The Quarterback and the Cheerleader
by 4eva-xo
Summary: AU. She's the new girl in Boulder, CO. He's the captain of the football team and the quarterback of Taft High School-in other words, king of the student body. She also meets the head-cheerleader. Friends or Foes? READ TO FIND OUT!
1. Chapter 1

**Author's note:** Yup, you got it right! We're back and this is an entirely new story! It's in an Alternate Universe where the Make It or Break It clan does _not_ do gymnastics! Anyways, we had an idea and just had to put down the first chapter. We don't know if you guys like it, but anyways, check it out :)

**Disclaimer:** We do NOT own the MIOBI clan, as all rights go to Holly Sorenson. We, however, do own the plot :)

ENJOY :)

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><p><strong>Chapter One<strong>

"_Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Manhattan's elite-"_

"What?" I snapped into the phone while pressing the _pause_ button on my remote control.

"_Woah there, Kales, its me._"

"What do you want?" I said again.

"_Give some love, would you?_"

"You're interrupting my Gossip Girl episode. You're lucky I even picked up the phone."

"_Does Cruz need some of Chuck Bass' badass-ness? I'll give it to you._"

"Shut up, but seriously, why the call?" I was getting restless second by second. Chuck Bass and Nate Archibald are waiting for me to drool over them! "I'm going to hang up if you don't-"

"_Alright, alright. So you ready for tomorrow?_"

"Dunno. I'm not feeling nervous or anything, so that's a good sign. We'll see how it is when I wake up tomorrow."

"_Get a good night's rest tonight. I'll see you tomorrow._"

"You called me just to say _that_? You couldn't have texted me that? Really?"

"_I wanted to hear your voice, Kales. Anyways, have fun with Mr. Bass._"

"Oh, you know I will," I smirked.

"_Wait. Do you need me to swing by your house to pick you up_?"

I laughed, "No, I think I can manage driving to school tomorrow. But thanks for your concern."

"_Alright, well night, Kales. Love you_!"

"Night. Love you, too, Russo," I replied and hung up.

Okay, so what's my deal, you ask? First of all, my name's Kaylie Cruz, and I am sixteen. Up until two weeks ago, my family and I lived in Phoenix, Arizona. I guess it's safe to say they grew tired of Phoenix and so here we are, in Boulder, Colorado.

You can say that my family is wealthy. Whatever we want, we get. But contrary to what you may think, I'm not the spoilt brat who goes shopping all the time and don't care about school. Yes, I love my shopping – I'm a girl, what do you expect? – but I excel in school; straight As. Back in Phoenix, I was on the cheerleading team and, I don't mean to be cocky, but I was good. I was one of the _best_ girls on the team. This coming year, I was going to get captain, but thanks to mommy and daddy dearest, we moved. And so this year, my junior year, I'm going to have to regain everything. I'm determined to get on Taft High School's – yeah, that's the school's name: lame, I know – cheerleading team. From what I've seen, they're alright. Not that great, but not bad either.

My parents own their own businesses. My dad used to be a professional baseball player. Alex Cruz, you might know him. But now, he owns an advertisement company. I don't even know what it's called as I don't really pay attention. My mom, Ronnie Cruz, was a pop singer. You know the brand C. Couture? Yup, that's my mother's. I did some photo shoots for some of her collections as I "have a great body and who better to model them than Ronnie's own daughter?" That's what Michael, head of PR, said to me and to my mom. And so from that day on, whatever needed to be modeled when the supermodels were away I did them. Most of my closet is my mom's designs. I mean, she's a designer that aims her clothes towards teens, and they're pretty amazing. So why not just wear them when I know I get them first, and for free? I'm basically a walking mannequin and I honestly think I should be paid for that. But at least my weekly allowance makes up for it.

So why did we move to Boulder? My parents aren't really big on the whole "stay-in-one-place" thing. They like to move. Throughout my sixteen years of existence, we've moved four times. From Los Angeles (where I was born), to Las Vegas, then Phoenix, and now, Boulder. It is a matter of time before my parents decide to move to New York, or even Paris. I don't know. We'll see.

So tomorrow's my first day of school at Taft. I'm not sweating or fretting over being the "new kid" because for one, _he_ is going to be there with me and I'm not a social outcast. Hello, I'm a cheerleader. Well, soon-to-be cheerleader.

To make things clear about _him_, he is Nicholas Russo. Or Nick. But I call him Nicky and I'm the only one who is allowed to do that, not even his parents. So how did I know him? We go way back, and I really mean waaaaaaaaaaaaay back. When I was four-ish (so in other words, in LA), my parents sent me to this gymnastics center, All Stars. Nicky was the first person I met and became friends with. He's the same age as I so we hit it off pretty well. We helped each other do our summersaults and when we were five, we started trying the cartwheels, back handsprings, all those things. I guess you could say this was where my cheerleading abilities came from. When we were eight, he moved to Boulder and we still kept in contact. Our parents were the best of friends, though I'm not sure if they still are.

When I found out that we were moving to Boulder a month ago, the first person I called was Nicky.

"_NICKY!" I screamed at my computer, while staring at him. We are skyping. This is not some news that I can casually tell him about over the phone. No, this needs to be done face-to-face. _

"_Kales, why so happy? Got a new guy?" he winked._

"_Oh shut up. You know you're the only guy for me!" I replied, still ecstatic._

"_Aw, I feel the love Kay," he put his hand on top of his heart and smiled at me._

"_JOKES!" his happy face turned down. "Nah, I'm kidding with you! But seriously, I've got news!"_

"_And what is this news that could not have been said over the phone?" he raised an eyebrow._

_I grinned, "I'm moving to Boulder!"_

"_Come again?" I could see the surprise in his face._

"_You heard me! Don't pretend like you didn't. I'M MOVING TO BOULDER!" I said and started bouncing up and down._

"_Kales. Do you know what this means?" he pulled his lips into a smirk._

"_Mmhmm," I nodded._

"_I get to finally see you again! After ten years!" Nick replied, now feeling the excitement. "When are you getting here?"_

"_Two weeks before school starts. Oh my god, I'm so excited. This is the first time that I actually feel happy to move. We've been everywhere. Oh my god. I get to finally see my best friend. This is going to be so awesome. I mean seriously, the one person I know from Taft right now is on the football team! I get to walk around school with you. You're going to show me around and, and we might even have classes together! And imagine if I get on the cheerleading squad, we're-"_

"_Kaylie, deep breath. You're rambling," Nicky shook his head._

_I blushed a crimson red, "Oops, sorry. But I'm just so excited! I mean Boulder, Colorado. Who knew that out of all places this was where we both were going to end up in? I mean, we met in LA, LA! Los Angeles for goodness sakes. And we're reunited in Boulder. See the difference? It's just so…so weird and-"_

"_Kales, you're doing it again," he chuckled._

"_Sorry, but I'm just so excited!"_

"_Yeah, I can see that! Kales, junior year is going to be that much more awesome, knowing you'll be there with me." And just because of that, I smiled one of the biggest smiles ever._

That was one hell of a conversation! We kept on talking, well, I kept on rambling, for nearly two hours before he had to leave to go to one of his Sunday football conditionings.

I looked over to my desk where I saw my black leather Chanel bag packed and ready to go to school tomorrow. I still haven't really figured out what to wear yet. I want to make a good impression but I don't want to come across as the "stuck up bitch that thinks she's better than everyone". No, I do not want to be _that_ kind of girl. So I'll just wake up a tad bit earlier tomorrow and pull an outfit together. I looked back towards my bedside table and read the glaring red numbers from the clock: _10:54pm_. I really should get to bed. I quit all my safari tabs, closed my iTunes and shut down my MacBook Air. I placed it carefully onto the table. I pulled my hair up into a high bun, grabbed the hair tie from the table, and loosely tied it up. I glanced over to my iPhone, which was sitting next to my pillow, one last time before leaning over and flipping off the lights.

I placed myself in the center of my bed and pulled my duvet up. Once I found my "happy place", I drifted off into a deep slumber.

**-The QB and the Cheerleader-**

_Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep. Beep._

I flung my hand across my bed and slapped my clock as hard as I could. That shut it up alright. I grunted and sat up in my bed.

_6:45am_, the bright red numbers read. Okay, time to get ready for school!

I jumped into the shower, letting the water droplets pelt me as I relaxed under the soothing comfort. I shampooed and conditioned my hair, rubbed body scrub all over my body and made sure I finished up with rinsing my face with mother's favorite facial wash. After all that was done, I wrapped a towel around my torso and walked towards the sink. I brushed my teeth, finishing off with a shot of Listerine's mouthwash. It's my first day of school; I don't want to stink now do I?

I opened my top drawer and pulled out my pink hairdryer. I plugged it into the socket and turned it on. I used my fingers to brush through my hair as I moved the hairdryer around.

_Baby you light up my world like nobody else. The way that you flip your hair gets me overwhelmed. _

My phone started blaring Nicky's ring tone – don't ask me why it's One Direction, I didn't set it, Nicky did. I set the hairdryer down and walked out into my room and retrieved my phone.

"I'm putting you on speakers. I need to do my hair," I said, while walking back into the bathroom.

"_Alright, Kay. So, how's my best friend this fine morning_?"

"She is awesome," I replied, picking up my hairdryer and resumed my actions.

"_So what are you wearing today_?"

"Did Nicky Russo just ask what I was wearing today? Gasp!" I smirked.

"_Shut up Kay. I know you; you wanna make a good first impression. That's why I'm asking, don't go having other thoughts._"

"Yeah, you're right. Well I have no idea. You wanna match up today? You know, like old times?"

"_You mean like the one time when we wore the same color palette to All Stars_?"

"Aw, how sweet! You actually remember! But yes, like that one time," I unplugged my hairdryer and put it back where it belongs: in my top central drawer. My hair was naturally curly and I love it. I know, people with curly hair aren't supposed to like it, but I love mine, so I don't do anything to it, except tie half of it back, or do some sort of braid to it.

"_Just for you, Kales. What do you have in mind_?" I squealed into the phone and ran out of the bathroom and into my walk-in closet.

"Okay, I'm looking through my closet and I have no idea what to wear. What do girls, especially cheerleaders, wear at Taft?" I questioned.

"_Oh, you know, micro-minis and cropped shirts that show off their belly buttons._"

"Nicky! I don't have time to joke around right now!"

"_You know me too well. The norms. Jeans, tank top. But since it's the first day of school, I think they're going for a bit more dressy._"

"You are a lifesaver!" I knew what I was going to wear: a skirt and a loose tank. "I'm thinking navy blue and white, what do you think?"

"_I think that sounds good. I know exactly what to wear now._"

"Okay! Well I must go get dressed, do my make-up, you know the drill. See you later, Russo," I rushed. I needed time to get ready and present myself.

"_Bye, Cruz,_" he replied, sticking to the last name basis. "_See you in a few_!" And then the line went dead. I ran out and put my phone on top of my table, next to my bag, to make sure I don't forget it when I leave.

I went back into my closet and put on a bra and underwear. I can't walk out of this room, let alone this house, without my bra and underwear on. If I do, I just feel so…uncomfortable. I don't know how people and celebrities manage to do that. It's just…ugh.

After, I put on my silky white C. Couture tank top and adjusted it, so that it fit me in all the right places. Next, I pulled out my C. Couture navy blue tight skirt and pulled it over my tank top, so that it was neatly tucked into it. I turned around and faced my mirror. Good, this is what I'm looking for: preppy and cute and not outcast. I turned ninety degrees to my right and faced my array of accessories. I carefully looked at each individual rack and picked out one of each: a gold necklace with a heart pendant; a Juicy Couture charm bracelet and plain black studs. I slipped on a pair of black dollies and walked out to my make-up area.

Once there, I sat down on the chair and began pulling out my make-up drawers. I decided on a smoky eye, no blush, and a dab of lip-gloss. Once I was done, I looked at myself once again in my full-length mirror. I settled on leaving my wavy locks down, as I did not want to overdo this look. When I was happy and everything was as perfect as I could get it to be, I picked up my phone and saw that I had a message waiting for me.

_Can't wait. See you in twenty!_

Of course it was from Nick. Who else would it be? I didn't bother texting him back because he knows I already read it – yup, we were that close. I put my phone into my Chanel bag and headed downstairs. I was greeted with the warm smell of coffee and toast.

"Morning, darling!" my mom called out to me. "I see you're wearing my summer collection."

"Morning, mom, dad. And yes, I am," I replied, grabbing a piece of toast.

"You look stunning," my dad announced, setting his newspapers down.

"Thanks, daddy. Well, I got to head out, meeting Nick before school starts. He's helping me get my books and locker and stuff," I told him, walking towards the door.

"Kaylie, wait up. We have something for you," my mom said, getting out of her seat.

"What is it?" I wondered.

"Follow us, honey," my dad said as him and mom led me towards the garage.

"Uh, my car's that a way," I said, pointing behind me.

"No, this is your car," mom replied while my dad uncovered what was under the black sheets. It. Is. Beautiful.

"Oh, my god!" I squealed, lunging towards my mom and dad and squeezed them into a bear hug.

"Nena! You're squishing us," my dad said, chuckling.

"How did you know?" I asked.

"Well, we somehow came across your wish list and this seemed the most appropriate. Since this is a new place, you don't want to be driving around in the Phoenix-licensed car, do you?"

"Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!" I repeated over and over again while outlining the delicate gold, black and red logo that had a horse embellished in the center.

"Alright, honey, you better get going. Don't want to keep old Nicholas Russo waiting," my dad said, handing me the keys to my Boxster.

I quickly climbed into the drivers seat, put my bag on the passenger's seat and plugged in the keys. The car came to life within a matter of seconds and next thing you know, I was pulling out of my driveway. Nicky has given me directions to Taft over a million times and so it was engraved on my brains. I found myself at Taft's entrance in no more than five minutes and I was pulling into the parking lot. I seemed to have gotten a lot of attention, as everyone was looking my way. I found a parking spot, got in and turned off the engine.

I took a deep breath, "Okay, you can do this Kaylie. There's nothing to be afraid of, you have Nicky." I nodded to myself in encouragement, grabbed my bag and opened the door. I got out and looked around me. I was right _everybody_ is looking at me. I took a quick glance around the parking lot and let's just say, I shouldn't have driven this car – it stood out like a sore thumb, except for the other two Mercedes that were parked across the lot. I sucked it up and headed towards the main office. Guys whistled at me, girls gave me the daggers.

"Nicky, where are you?" I mumbled to myself. I entered the office that was enclosed by glass doors.

"Um, I'm new here, my name's Kaylie Cruz," I stated to the older looking women sitting behind the desk. She had on glasses and was typing away furiously on the computer. Once finished with her work, she looked up at me and smiled.

"That's right, hon. We've been waiting for you," she replied, sifting through her many racks in search of, what I presume, my schedule. Once she found it, she took a quick glance at it and handed it to me. "Okay, this is your schedule, and this," she gave me a smaller piece of paper, "is your locker number and combination. It should be in the junior hall which is down this hall, to the right."

I looked at it, "Thank you."

"You'll get your books in class so go on. Enjoy your first day here at Taft," she grinned and turned back to what she was previously doing.

"Alright," I mumbled and headed down the hallway. I followed her directions and soon enough, I was in the "Junior" hallway. I looked tentatively at the small numbers on the lockers, wanting to find locker J128.

"J124, 125, 126, 127. Ah, here it is," I sighed, finally stopping in front of my new locker. The lockers here were generally bigger than the ones in Phoenix, and for that, I'm happy. I turned the lock three times to the right, before stopping at the first number, 28, then once to the left, past the first number, to number 7, and lastly, straight to number 13. I pulled on the lock but it would not open.

"What the hell?" I mumbled. I tried my locker combination again, and still, it would not work. I was getting more and more frustrated every time it would not budge.

Suddenly, I felt a pair of strong, muscular arms wind their way around my waist and I jumped back, screamed slightly while turning around and kneeing the guy square in his area.

"Kales, what the hell?" the all too familiar voice called out, while his form toppling over and rolling onto the floor.

"Oh shit, Russo! You didn't tell me that was you! You scared the living daylights out of me!" I retaliated while bending down to help my best friend up.

"One thing I learnt today, never sneak up on you," he breathed, regaining his stance with his feet.

"I thought you learnt that ten years ago? Remember that one time at All Stars where you snuck up on me and I punched you in the face?" I chuckled, reliving the memory.

"Let's just say I forgot how hard you can hit," he grinned, wrapping me in his burly arms. "Anyways, I've missed you, Cruz."

I chuckled into his neck, "I missed you too, Russo."

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> So, what do you think? We're not entirely sure where this story is headed. It's just a basic start to a story. We can go in any direction from here. And plus, we need your feedback! So, what do you think should happen next?

_REVIEW!_

**Love, **

**S & T.**

**xo**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter Two**

Nicky pulled away and smiled at me. "So, how you liking Taft?"

"Oh you know, it's alright. Though I shouldn't have drove here today," I sighed, remembering the looks I got in the parking lot.

"Really? Why not? There was this Porsche Boxster in the parking lot and I'm guessing whoever drove it got lots of looks. I wonder whose it is. I'm going to give them a run for their money. Austin and I are the ones who have the nicest cars here. So that person is going down," he explained. Oh crap. Nick's going to kill me. I'm the one who owns the Porsche – the car that's beating his and Austin's, whoever Austin is.

"Uh, Nick," I started.

"What?" he looked at me.

"Yeah, about that Porsche, it's…uh…it's," I continued, racking my brain for the right words. I looked up at his face and he was piecing everything together. I took a deep breath, closed my eyes, and got ready for the worst.

"It's yours, isn't it?" he said, realization hitting him like a ton of bricks.

I chuckled nervously, "Yeah. Dad gave it to me this morning. You're not going to give me a run for my money are you?"

"No, Kales. You're my best friend. I would never do that to you, even though I hate you for having that car, but I'm not going to make your life a living hell here at Taft," he wrapped me in a hug.

"Love you, Nicky," I sighed and pulled back. "Alright, I have English Honors with Williams," I said, looking at the half piece of paper that was my schedule.

"That's in the next hall, here, I'll walk you there," he told me before steering me in the opposite direction.

"Wait, Nick, my locker won't open," I complained, stopping in my tracks. He turned us back around and positioned me in front of locker number J128.

"So I did everything it told me to: turn three times, to 28, then once to 7, and lastly 13. But it wouldn't open!" I said, pulling on the lock once again.

"Here, let me try," he moved me aside and began turning the lock. As if the locker hates me, the lock clicked open. Nicky sniggered.

"Shut up, I tried that like five times. It hates me," I mumbled, moving in front of him and looking in the locker. Shelves, check; hooks, check; books, no check. The locker is pretty decent; it even had a mirror within it. I closed the locker door and put my lock back on, turned the knob three times and positioned it at number 0. I turned around and faced Nicky. This was the first time I actually looked him up and down. He had on white jeans and a navy blue polo shirt from Burberry, he left the top two buttons open and I could see a hint of his defined pecs. His hair was gelled up, and dare I say, he looks pretty hot.

"You look dashing," I said lamely, attempting to be "English".

He chuckled before replying, "You look amazing, Cruz." I laughed as I turned towards the direction we were heading towards before.

"Alright, so Mr. Williams. He's pretty chilled, not too bad. I have him second period. Maybe I should switch photo and English so we have the same class?"

"I think I can survive a period without you, Russo," I slapped him across the arm jokingly.

"Hey, I'm just looking out for you. Anyways, what else are you taking?" he asked before flinging his left arm and positioning it across my shoulders.

"AP Spanish with Parks, no third, AP Bio with Buron, AP Calculus BC with Reed and US History with Sanchez. You?" I said, reading off my schedule.

"Photo with Tyler, no third, AP Physics with Taylor, AP Calculus BC with Reed and US History with Sanchez. See? We have third period off together so we could chill, and I have calc and USH with you."

"USH?" I asked, confused.

"US History. An easier way to say that," he explained. I nodded. "Alright, well here we are, Honors with Williams. I'll see you during the ten minute break," he said. Before he dashed off he gave me one last hug and waited until I was sat in my seat before he left for his class.

Sitting down in my seat, I was in the dead center of the class. I took a glance around and saw a mixture of personalities. I could see the football players, of course they were wearing their Letterman jackets, the cheerleaders – they were sitting and talking to the football players, and the others. The one place I'm aiming to be at is mingling with the cheerleaders. Nicky assured me that I would be okay, that I will make the team hands down. But I'm incredibly nervous. What if they don't like me? What if-?

"Alright class, take a seat. Welcome to English III Honors. First of all, we have a new student here with us, Miss Kaylie Cruz," Mr. Williams interrupted my train of thought.

"Yeah, hey," I replied, giving everyone my signature smile.

"Oh come on, don't be shy, come up here," he waved his hand, motioning me forward. I got up out of my seat and walked to the front of the class, I heard some wolf-whistles and a bunch of whispering – from the girls, I presume. "Tell us about yourself, Kaylie."

I nodded before starting, "Well, I'm new here, obviously. My name's Kaylie, duh," this earned a few chuckles from my classmates. "I used to live in LA, Las Vegas and Phoenix. Uh, what else?"

"Tell us about your parents," Mr. Williams said, taking a seat in his comfy cushioned chair. I hate teachers, why do they get the comfortable chairs and we get the stinking plastic ones that hurt your butts _and_ your backs? My parents, great. I just hope nobody recognizes my parents' names.

"Uh, my dad's Alex Cruz, he-" I was interrupted.

"Wait, as in Alex Cruz, major league baseball player?" Oh crap.

"Uh, yeah," I looked down.

"Woah, that's pretty cool," the guys said.

"Wait, does that mean your mom is Ronnie Cruz? CEO and designer for C. Couture?" one of the cheerleaders asked. I blushed even more.

"Yup, the one and only," I chuckled.

"You're Russo's best friend aren't you?" one of the football guys questioned.

"Bingo," I replied. "That's me."

"Alright, class, it's time to do some work," I took that as my cue to go back into my seat. Mr. Williams began telling us about his expectations from our class and what we're going to do in our course.

"Hey, kid, swap seats with me," I heard the guy that asked if I was Nick's best friend say to the guy sitting next to me.

"Uh, uh, yeah, sure," the guy said, gathering his things as quick as possible, standing up and slipping into his new seat. The jock sat down in the seat next to mine and placed his bag down. I don't know why, but I felt a blush rising up in my cheeks. I looked down so that he wouldn't see that he had this effect on me.

"You know, I think it's cute when girls blushes," he whispered. This just made me blush harder and I heard him chuckle. I took a deep breath and looked up at him.

"Really?" I whispered back, looking into his eyes. They had such depth in them, so beautiful. The corner of my lips pulled up into a smile.

"Yeah. I'm Austin," he stuck his hand out. I laughed quietly at this. He tilted his head and look at me, eyebrows scrunched together.

"I'm more of a hugger than a hand-shaker," I took him out of his misery.

"Right, so I guess you owe me a hug now," he said before taking a quick glance at Mr. Williams, who was still writing things down on the board. So this is Austin, Nick's other best friend, the guy that had one of the best cars at Taft. I saw a piece of paper land on my desk. I unfolded it and smiled at the simple sentence that was scribbled on it, in messy writing.

_You're beautiful._

I looked to my right and saw Austin looking at me, a smile pulling at his lips. I took my pen and wrote a reply.

_Thank you : )_

I passed it back to Austin when Mr. Williams wasn't looking. I heard him chuckle. Thirty seconds later, the note was back on my desk.

_What do you have next?_ I looked towards him and mouthed, "AP Spanish."

He nodded and mouthed back, "Regular Spanish." I giggled at that, but a bit too loud as the next thing I heard was Mr. Williams.

"Ms. Cruz, Mr. Tucker, will you please share with the class why you are laughing?"

"Uh, I…I'm," I was too shocked to formulate words and think up an excuse.

"I just told her a joke, that's all," Austin came to my rescue. I whipped my head towards him and gave him a _thank you_ smile.

"And what was that joke?" Mr. Williams asked, crossing his heads above his chest.

"I'm forty-five and I go to school. At night I go home to an empty house, as I do not have a wife. My life outside of school consists of going to strip clubs on a weekly basis in hopes of getting it in. I teach Honors English. Who am I?" Austin said, and I've got to admit, it was kind of funny. The entire class burst out laughing and Mr. Williams' cheeks turned a dark shade of red. Before Mr. Williams could retaliate, the bell rung.

I gathered the papers Mr. Williams handed out during class and put it in my folder, before getting out of my seat. Once I was done with that, I grabbed my Chanel purse and moved towards the door.

"Hey," a voice said while grabbing me by the arm. I turned back around and saw Austin.

"Hey," I mimicked.

"So, you know you still owe me a hug, right?" he cheekily said. I chuckled and advanced towards his open arms. I wrapped my arms around his neck while his found their way around my waist. My head fit perfectly on his shoulders, like puzzle pieces being put together. After a few seconds, I let go and so did he. He laughed.

"Well, I've got to go find Nicky before he kills me," I said.

"Nicky?" he questioned. Oh yeah, I'm the only one who calls him that.

"Nick. Nicholas Russo. Your best friend," I clarified.

"Oh, him. Why do you call him Nicky?" we began to walk out of the class towards the Junior hall.

"I don't know, I think it sounds better and it just kind of rolls off the tongue. And plus, I'm the only one he actually allows to call him that. So ssh, don't tell him I told you," I winked.

"Oh, don't worry about that. This will be our secret," he agreed. When we reached the hall, it was like a mess. Everyone was there, messing around in front of his or her lockers. Some were grossly making out, while the guys pushed each other around, and the girls were hunched together, gossiping.

"Kales! Austin!" a voice stuck out. Austin and I turned towards the direction the sound came from and we saw Nicky walking towards us.

"Nicks!" I yelled back with as much enthusiasm and launched into his arms. Once he let me go, we walked the three feet back to where Austin was standing.

"What's up, man," Austin said before the guys did their "hand-shake".

"I see you've met Kaylie," Nicky said.

"Yeah, Williams' English together," Austin replied. "Russo, you didn't tell me your best friend was this beautiful."

"Oh, shut up," I teased as my cheeks turned crimson.

"You know what, Kales? Austin's right. You can't hide from it. I mean if you're going to be one of Taft's new cheerleaders, better look the part right?" Nicky joked.

"You're a cheerleader?" Austin inquired. I nodded.

"Yup. I was going to make Varsity Captain on my old squad this year if I hadn't moved," I explained.

"She is amazing. I mean, seriously. She can do a round-off back handspring layout step out like it's a simple cartwheel," Nicky continued.

"A what?" Austin was obviously confused. "How the hell do you know what whatever that was is called?"

"I used to do gymnastics, remember?" Nicky said.

"Oh yeah, right. I totally forgot about that!" Austin realized.

"Well, well, well, what do we have here? Austin Tucker, Nicky Russo and the new chick." I turned around to see who was talking to us.

"Maeve!" the two boys said before tackling her in a huge hug. I chuckled lightly but couldn't help the rising feeling of jealousy as I saw the two guys hug the gorgeous girl.

"Maeve, this is Kaylie Cruz. Kaylie, this is Maeve Benson," Nicky introduced.

"Hey, you're the best friend," Maeve said.

"Is that what Nick has been calling me around here? Cause, I swear, Austin said the exact same thing," I joked.

"Pretty much. He wouldn't shut up about you after he found out that you were moving here. You have a strong hold over this doofus," Maeve ruffled Nicky's hair.

I chuckled, "You can say that."

"I also hear you're quite the cheerleader," Maeve announced as she put a hand on her hips.

"How did you…oh wait, Nick," I mumbled which earned laughter from the three.

"She's Taft's head cheerleader," Austin said. Now everything makes so much more sense.

"Oh, well, I'm hoping to try out for cheerleading this year, but I think I missed tryouts, didn't I?" my face fell.

"Yeah, you did. But that's okay because you're on the team," Maeve beamed. What did she just say?

"I'm sorry, what?" I asked.

"You're on Taft's cheerleading team," she repeated, smiling.

"Wait, what? How? I thought I missed tryouts. What?" I started rambling.

"You did miss tryouts, but after Nicholas told me what a great cheerleader you were, I kind of youtubed your old high school and looked at your cheers. And weren't you the only sophomore on the Varsity team?"

"Yeah, and I was going to make-"

"Captain, too. I know, I did my research," Maeve finished for me.

"So you're actually serious. I'm on the cheerleading team?" I started getting excited.

"Yup!" she squealed.

"Oh, my god!" I screamed before lunging myself at Maeve. I knew I caught her off guard as she stumbled backwards before enveloping me in a hug. We were laughing while we broke apart.

"Practice starts tomorrow, so bring your spanks, shorts, tanks, sports bra, trainers, whatever it is you wear tomorrow," Maeve instructed while I nodded.

"You know, May, you don't have to go into that much detail about what you girls wear during practice," Austin said uncomfortably, scratching his head as well.

"You know, Aus, guys would kill to know what we wear to cheer practice. With all the fantasies that you guys make up in your heads, and all," I teased. Maeve and Nicky began laughing while Austin stood there, clearly embarrassed.

"You know, Kaylie, I see us being best friends in the near future," Maeve said while looping her arm through mine.

"I couldn't have said it better," I smiled at her.

"Now, Austin, you know you're going to have to give her your jersey to wear on game days," Maeve nudged Austin.

"Austin's? I thought I was going to wear Nick's, considering he's my best friend and all," I asked, confused.

"That is true, but Nick and I have a tradition. He always gives me his jersey on game days," Maeve answered.

"Yeah, sorry Kales, I guess it slipped my mind about the whole jersey thing. I'm sorry," Nick said.

"No, it's alright. At least I know the guy that's going to be giving me his jersey," I laughed it off. It sucks that I don't get to wear Nick's, but I guess that's okay considering I get Austin's.

"Just so you know, Kay, Austin here is Taft's first string quarterback," Maeve hinted.

"Really now?" I wondered, looking at Austin. He chuckled.

"Yup, Taft's star athlete," Austin said proudly.

"Don't get such a big head, Austin, otherwise no one's going to be wearing your jersey on game days, especially not me," I warned him. Maeve and Nicky burst out laughing while Austin kept on looking at me.

"Anything for you, Kales," Austin replied, using one of my many nicknames.

"Maeve-" I started.

"You're like cool with me, so call me Mae, or Bens. I don't really like my close friends calling me Maeve, it just sounds so…I don't know…formal," she shrugged.

"What's your last name again?" I questioned.

"Benson," she replied. Benson. Now what nickname can I give her? Maeve Benson.

"You know what? I just had the best idea ever," I looked at Maeve. She raised her eyebrows, wanting me to continue. "You are going to be called M," I started before she caught on.

"And you're K!" I nodded. "K, that is genius. But you've got to admit, we have Gossip Girl to thank for," she winked.

"Totes, M," I agreed. "And let's not forget our guys, Nicholas and Austin. Would you like to be a part of our newly minted codename group?"

"Hell yeah!" Austin fist-pumped.

"Count me in," Nicky grinned.

"Alright, A and N. We have our little group. But first, K, I need your number," Maeve started digging through her Louis Vuitton purse for her phone. At the same time, I could see Austin getting his phone out while I took it out of my tote.

"Okay, me first. K what's your number?" Austin asked, touching the screen of his iPhone.

"303-584-2785," I recited. He took a quick picture of me pulling a funny face and saved it as his contact number.

"And yours, A?" I giggled.

"303-976-1824," he spoke out. I position my iPhone in front of him and snapped a picture of him with pouty lips and saved it as his contact picture.

"M, your turn," I told her.

"303-621-8902. And A, you better send me that photo of Miss K here," she smirked.

"Pull a funny face, M," Nicky said and she did as she was told. I took a picture and saved it as her contact picture.

"You know what this moment calls for?" Maeve asked. "Group photo!" She squealed before pulling one of the passerby and shoving her iPhone into his hands.

"Now, Greg, take a good picture. It's going on Facebook," she said sternly.

"It's Fred," he said, annoyed.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever. Just take the picture," Austin said. Maeve and I stood in the middle, with Nicky next to Maeve and Austin next to me. The guys had their arms around our shoulders while Maeve and I had our arms around their waists. Maeve and I had our arms linked together, and the four of us plastered on giant smiles.

"3…2…1," and the flash went off. Greg, or Fred, whatever, handed Maeve's phone back.

"Thanks, Red," Austin called out as he left.

"It's Fred!" he shouted back, annoyed, which made us all burst into fits of giggles.

"So cute! First photo of the Fab Four! But first, I gotta add you, K, on Facebook," Maeve said, typing my name into the Facebook's search bar. When she added me, my phone got a new notification.

"Got it," I replied while clicking accept. Next thing I knew, I had a new notification, stating: "_You have been tagged in Maeve Benson's photo in her album, Like a Baus '13_." I laughed before pressing the _Like_ button, but I saw that Nicky and Austin beat me to it.

"I added you, K," Austin said.

"Got it, too!" I accepted his friend request.

"You know, guys, this is going to be one hell of an awesome year," Maeve said.

"Hate to break this moment, guys, but we gotta get to class," Nicky warned us. The warning bell rang right at that moment and Maeve and I put on our pouts.

"Off to class, I'll see you during lunch, K?" Maeve asked.

"Probably not, N and I have third period off," I replied.

"That sucks, balls. Alright then, I'll give you guys a call when school lets out, we gotta get more Fab Four pictures up!" she clapped her hands, excitedly. "A, let's get to class before Senora Shellinger kill us."

"Sounds great, see you guys later," I said while giving Maeve a hug and then Austin.

"Well, I'm off to Williams," Nicky said sadly.

"I have," I looked at my schedule, "Parks."

"Fab Four meet up at Starbucks later?" Maeve asked.

"Definitely," the three of us answered before scattering off into the different hallways.

I have got to admit, Taft High School and Boulder, Colorado isn't so bad. I'm actually enjoying my time here. And it's a huge deal that I'm feeling this way considering I've only been at Taft for a bit more than two hours. Maybe Junior year isn't going to suck. It's my first day here, I have my best friend, and two possible new best friends, and to top it all off, I'm a Varsity Cheerleader for Taft High School. Maybe Junior year might actually be one of the best years ever, and that's all thanks to M, N and A. Together we're the Fab Four: two cheerleaders and two football players. Nothing gets better than that. S

My phone buzzed an I looked down: "_You have been added to Maeve Benson's list: The Fab Four_." I smiled to myself and made a mental note of making a Fab Four list on Facebook as well. Was it too early to consider Maeve as my best friend?

My phone buzzed once again and this time, it was a message: "_Love you, best friend. Xoxo, M_." Nope, I guess not. I replied to her message with: "_Fab Four for life. Love you, too, M. Xoxo, K_." With a smile on my face, I put my phone back into my pocket, walked into Mr. Parks' AP Spanish class and sat down in one of the uncomfortable chairs, ready to learn.

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> So, how was it? And thank you the nine reviewers for the last chapter! you really encouraged us to carry on with this story! and thank you to those who put forward ideas for this story! we appreciate it! and we're going to somehow incorporate those ideas in! THANK YOU!

so, what should happen next?

**REVIEW.**

**Love,**

**S & T. xx**


	3. Chapter 3

**Author's note:** Okay, we know, you guys hate us! We are so so sorry for not updating sooner! major case of writer's block and it took us a week + to write this chapter only! Crazy. I know. I guess the Thanksgiving Break didn't really increase the amount of writing we did. Too much food = less functional brains. Anyways, please read and enjoy :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Three<strong>

"Kales!" a voice called out to me. I turned to my right and saw Nicky. I laughed and turned back towards my locker, putting my AP Spanish textbook into the confined area.

"Kales!" Nicky shouted again, but this time, he was right next to me.

"Woah, Nicks, calm down. You're talking as if you placed a megaphone right next to my ear," I complained while trying to recover from Nick's outburst.

"Sorry, K, so what do you want for lunch?" he questioned, giving me a one-armed hug.

I reciprocated the hug with my right hand before replying, "I don't know. What is there in Boulder, Colorado?"

"There's a lot of stuff. Or do you want to go to the cafeteria and chill with Maeve and Austin?"

"Hmm, that sounds like a great idea. Being my first day and all, I believe I should make more friends," I stuck my tongue out at him before closing up my locker.

"Now come on, K, we gotta get to the other members of the Fab Four," Nicky said while ushering me through the crowded hall.

I spotted the girls' bathroom and excused myself, "Nicks, I kinda need to go the bathroom. Meet you in the caf?"

"Alright, don't get lost. If you just continue straight down this hall you'll see big double doors, and go in," and giving me one last hug, he blended into the mass of students.

I walked into the bathroom and did my business. No, I'm not going to explain every single detail of my bathroom journey to you. That's just…a moment of TTMI – too, too much information. So I'm baring you guys from the possibility of being scarred.

"If I die young, bury me in satin. Lay me down on a bed of roses. Sink me in the river, at dawn. Send me away with the words of a love song, oh," I sang to myself while walking out of the bathroom. With my mom being a retired pop star, I do have the vocals in me. No one, however, knows I can sing. No one. Not even my parents. Not even Nick. So this is something I do by myself.

"Hey, were you just singing?" a girl asked me. Oh man. Someone heard me.

"Uh, yeah," I turned around and blushed slightly. In front of me was a girl, probably a junior, considering we're still in the junior hall, with silky brown hair and deep blue eyes.

"You're really good. I'm Is – short for Isabelle. I'm part of Taft's music department and we're looking for new singers to join and compete against other schools in the district. You must be Kaylie Cruz?"

"Uh, yeah," I repeated, "How'd you know?"

"We don't get new students here often, and when we do, news travel fast," she smiled.

"Oh," I felt ridiculous.

"So, what do you think? We meet every Wednesdays and Fridays during lunch," she explained. So, should I do it? I don't know. New place, new school, new people. Why not?

"Alright, sounds good. Where do we meet?" I accepted her offer.

"Music room, its room 64. So I'll see you around?"

"Yeah, that's great. See ya," I waved and headed towards the cafeteria. I finally reached the large double doors that Nick told me about. I pushed one of them inwards and stepped into the cafeteria.

I spotted Maeve, Austin and Nicky sitting around one of the tables in the center of the room. I walked towards it.

"Hey, guys," I announced when I reached them.

"K! What took you so long?" Maeve scooted to the left and pulled me down next to her.

"Sorry, went to the bathroom and some girl named Isabelle – I think? – came up to me and asked if I wanted to join the school's singing group thing," I explained and took a deep breath afterwards.

"What?" Austin questioned. "You joined a singing group?"

"K, I didn't know you could sing," Nicky stated.

"I can, I just never told anyone. And yeah, I did. Why?"

"K, you're a cheerleader. We don't mix with those kinds of people," Maeve said.

"I know that, but you know, it's a new school and I'm new here. I just want to try things out. And I kind of want to give this singing thing a chance. See if I'm actually that good, you know?" Why can't they understand that I want to give it a try? I mean, there's no harm in trying, is there?

"We understand, K, and we support you," Maeve understood. I smiled gratefully at her. "Now, tell me what you and N are doing here? I thought you guys had third off?"

"Yeah, we did. But K insisted we eat in the cafeteria," Nick sighed.

"Really?" Austin asked, I nodded.

"Well, in that case, K, you have a round of introductions to do. Let's go," Maeve stood up while pulling me up with her.

"Okay," I stuttered.

"Everyone, may I have your attention?" Maeve's voice echoed throughout the cafeteria. At once, the room went silent and everyone's head whipped around to see what the queen wanted. Maeve stood up on the benches and Austin lifted me up.

"Thanks, A," I whispered to Austin. He nodded.

"So, as you may or may not know, this is Kaylie Cruz," Maeve started and there were a few murmurs from the student body.

"Yeah, hey, guys. It's my first day here," I chuckled nervously.

"She's a cheerleader, obviously, and she's my newly minted best friend," Maeve stated. There were even more whisperings between the students.

"Shut up," Nicky called out and instantly, the hall was silent once again.

"Thanks, N. Anyways, as I was saying, you guys better treat her right. One word I hear that you guys are mistreating her, you can say goodbye to your life here at Taft. Do I make myself clear?" Maeve's voice had so much authority within them.

"Yeah," the student body replied, consecutively.

"Alright, you guys can go back to what you were doing," Maeve smiled, took my hand, and we both stepped down. "And that was your introduction to Taft High's society."

"You make it sound like we're at a cotillion right now," I giggled.

"Better. Anyways, these are the pimps: Max Spencer, Courtney Tinsley," Maeve started while pointing to its respective name-bearer. There were about fifteen other people at the table, and I'm guessing they're all football players and cheerleaders. I said my fair share of, "Hey, what's up?" and now, I'm just chilling with Austin. However, I could see out of my peripheral vision that someone from across the table is looking at me. I turned in his direction and looked at him.

"Hey, I'm Matthew, Matt for short," the dirty blonde-haired hottie said to me, giving me a weak smile.

"Yeah, hey. I'm Kaylie Cruz, but I think you already knew that," I rolled my eyes, attempting to ease the awkwardness between us.

"Of course. Your first day here?" He asked and I nodded my head as a response. "So, how are you liking Taft so far?"

"Hmm," I had to think about that. Nah, I'm kidding, I know the answer to that question right off the tip of my tongue. "It's great. I've met great people and overall, it's been the best first-day experience ever."

"That's good to hear. You move around a lot?"

"Yeah, pretty much. Moved four times so far," I said before taking a sip from the Snapple Maeve got me.

"Four? That's not a lot. I've moved around eight times so far," he got out of his seat and moved to a closer one.

"I rest my case. So, Matthew," I began.

"Matt, please," he interrupted.

"Matt," I corrected myself. "Tell me about yourself."

"Well, I'm what you can call a "typical American guy". Was born in Los Angeles, I surf when I get the chance. On the football team and I, supposedly, have the "perfect American body" whatever the hell that means," he chuckled.

"Wait, you were born in Los Angeles? So was I! How come I never saw you around?" I asked, intrigued.

"Maybe because I moved away when I was five, and I was never sent to any daycare so, yeah," he sighed.

"Hm, really? I met Nick when I was four in Los Angeles," I replied.

"Really? Cool. Wanna go to the lunch line with me?" he got up out of his seat.

"Yeah, sure," I got up as well. "K, A, N, I'll be right back. Going to the lunch line with Matt."

"Yeah," Maeve and Nicky replied before engrossing themselves in a deep conversation.

"Uh…K…uh, yeah, g-go for it," Austin spat out. The looks in his eyes, I swear, it looked like jealousy. But why would Austin be jealous? I mean, I've only known him for, what, five hours? No, less than that. Huh.

"Come on, Kaylie," Matt pulled on my arm.

"Uh, right, yeah. Let's go," I advanced in Matt's direction.

"So, tell me about yourself," he said while we lined up behind the students. I know, it's been fifteen minutes into lunch and there was still a line.

"Well, as you know, I was born in LA, met Nick there. Then I moved to Las Vegas, then Phoenix and now here I am. So I'm on the cheerleading team, since, well, today. But if I stayed in my old school I would have made Varsity captain, but I moved here. My parents are alright, they aren't "cool" or whatnot, but they are cool enough to live with on a day-to-day basis. Oh, and I'm a junior," I said, nodding my head.

"Your parents, aren't they Alex and Ronnie Cruz?" he asked.

"Yup, that's the one," I smiled.

"Well, you being a junior is a given, cause guess what? I'm a junior, too. Everyone at our lunch table are juniors, so it doesn't take a rocket scientist with however many years of extra schooling they did to figure out you were a junior," he sarcastically said.

"Hm, a good-looking, football jock, who's not a jerk, with a sense of humor! My type of guy!" I announced.

"You think I'm good-looking?"

"Oh, come on, it doesn't take a rocket scientist with however many years of extra schooling to figure out you're good looking with your "perfect American body", am I right?" I re-quoted what he previously said which earned a laugh from him.

"Well, in that case, I think you're beautiful," he said, holding my gaze.

"May I – may I help you guys? Hello? Hey!" a very annoyed voice spoke out, waving their hands in front of us.

"Oh, sorry, can you please repeat that?" Matt was so polite. He was the perfect guy. I've always looked for someone with all those qualities to be my boyfriend. And up until now, I thought that guy could only appear in my dreams, but now, standing here at Taft High School, I think I may have found him. My eyes fluttered back to our table while Matt was ordering whatever he wanted. My eyes drifted to Taft High School's first string quarterback and saw that he was looking at me. I smiled at him and he smiled back after a couple of seconds. It felt as if my heart was doing back flips one after another when I saw him smile at me. Oh, great. Just great. I'm caught between Austin and Matt. Seriously. And this had to happen on the _first_ day of school? Are you serious?

"Damn it," I cursed under my breath.

"What did you say?" Matt asked, looking at me while picking up the change on the counter.

"Oh, uh, nothing. I didn't say anything," I looked down.

"Oh, okay. Do you want anything? I can get you something," he requested.

"No, I'm good. I don't really eat food made by the school. It goes against what I've been refraining from since I started high school. Let's just say school food plus me getting food poisoning equals no more school lunchies for me!" he chuckled. "Anyways, let's head back to the group," I told him.

"K! Good news, you're cheer uniform's coming in tomorrow! So you can get it tomorrow at practice!" Maeve cheered.

"Really? That's awesome! But I thought you just made me a cheerleader today?" I wondered.

"Are you kidding me? I already made you a cheerleader the day after N told me all about you!"

"Oh, well, that makes more sense," I nodded.

"I'm guessing you're the same size as me? Cause that's what I ordered for you," she asked, looking me up and down.

"Yeah, guess so," I said, comparing her and I.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Nicky! Kaylie! Over here!" Maeve screamed out across the room.

"Hey, guys," I replied, taking a seat next to Maeve and Austin.

"Matt came along, by the way. I know I said only the Fab Four, but he had nothing to do after school, so we said he could come," Maeve explained to us why Matt was sitting next to her on the other side.

"Oh, yeah, that's cool. Hey Matt," I smiled at him. Maybe I do have a teeny weeny little crush on a certain dirty-blonde haired guy. Maybe. Just maybe.

"K, will you come order with me?" Maeve asked.

"Mmhmm," I muttered and got up, following her towards the counter.

"One venti peppermint latte with no whip," Maeve beamed.

"And what can I get for you?" the waitress asked me.

"Uh, a tall double chocolate chip frappucino, please," I said while handing her a five-dollar bill.

"Names?"

"Maeve and Kaylie," Maeve said. The waitress nodded and we moved out of line.

"So, K, spill," Maeve demanded in a low voice.

"Spill what?"

"You and Matt. Spill," she smirked.

"Oh, that," I swear I blushed. "Well, I don't know, he's the type of guy I look for in a boyfriend. I don't know."

"Ask him out," she said as if it was the easiest thing to do.

"Are you kidding me? I don't even know if he even likes me that way," I whispered the last part.

"K, you obviously haven't seen the way he looks at you. Especially during lunch," she explained.

"That doesn't mean anything," I shrugged.

"Okay how about this: he never, and I repeat _never_, asks anyone to go to the lunch line with him. No. One. Not even his girlfriends. None. So the fact that he asked you, that's gotta mean something," she said.

"Well, if you put it that way, but I don't know. Maybe," I smiled.

"Kaylie and Maeve, your peppermint latte and double chocolate chip frappucino," one of the Starbucks workers shouted out. We smiled politely at her and took our drinks from the counter.

"Think about it, okay, K?" Maeve whispered loud enough so that only I could hear. I nodded in response.

"Hey guys, we're back. Missed us?" Maeve winked.

"Yeah, we missed you girls, especially you, Kales," Matt responded. I could feel heat rising up my cheeks and Maeve nudged my arm. I gave her a look and all she did was smile.

"So, what are we talking about?" I asked while Maeve and I sat down in our chairs.

"Well, you know, just…stuff," Austin said while scratching his head.

"I have something to ask," Matt stated, taking a sip of his latte.

"What is it?" Nicky asked, intrigued.

"Well, it's actually directed to Kaylie," Matt looked at me, and I blushed, again. Why can't I stop blushing?

"Go on, say it," Maeve encouraged, obviously enjoying my severe blushing.

"Well, Kaylie," he began scratching the back of his head, a small smirk forming at the corners of his mouth. "I know we've only known each other for, like, two hours, and it may be too soon, but I was just wondering, um, I just," he trailed.

"Just spit it out Anderson," Austin spat.

"Hey, no need for the last names, here," Matt retaliated which earned a soft giggle from me.

"Matt, just say it," I said softly.

"Okay then. Will you go on a date with me?" he rushed.

"I'm sorry, what?" I couldn't hear him properly, not my fault.

"Will you, uh, go on a date with, uh with me?" he asked, adding a nervous chuckle at the end. My smile spread even wider and I look at Maeve and I could see her happy dancing internally. I turned to Nicky and he was grinning, nodding his head up and down. Last but not least, I turned to Austin, and he was smiling as well, though I could see a hint of jealousy in his eyes. My brain was telling me no, but my heart was soaring.

"Yes," I croaked out, smiling and blushing furiously.

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> We know what you're thinking: "WHAT THE HELL". Are we right? Or are we right? ;) but don't worry, K and Matt isn't going to survive too long. So all you KayAus fans out there, hang tight! So what'd you think about the chapter that took us a week to write? We know, not that great, could be better, but oh well.

Anyways, this whole update thing might have to occur once a week or even longer. With so much school work and the SATs looming around the corner, this story might have to go on hiatus second semester. WE ARE EXTREMELY SORRY, in advance. But it is not definite yet, so keep supporting us!

_**REVIEW! xx**_


	4. Chapter 4

**Author's note:** Alright readers! We are so so so so so so so so so so sorry! it's been 12 days since we updated. It took us 12 days to write this chapter. 12 days. WE APOLOGIZE PROFUSELY!

junior year + homework + SAT prep + reviewing for finals + christmas shopping = less time to write.

We are trying out BEST to update as fast as possible, but... as you can see, not really working out for us :( anyways, have fun read this chapter!

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><p><strong>Chapter Four<strong>

"Maeve, I know. But-"

"_No buts, K. You can't back out now. Now, tell me. What are you wearing?"_

Taking a deep sigh, I looked at myself in the mirror. Maeve's right. I can't back out of this. I agreed to it, and now we just got to see how the night turns outs. "Mini skirt from Forever 21, cropped shirt, wedges."

"_Sounds hot, K. Hair? And make up?"_

"Why does it feel like you're interrogating me?"

"_In a way I am. Spill."_

"Hair down in soft curls and a smoky eye. Happy?"

"_Ecstatic. So, what time?"_

"In half an hour," I replied, my heart rate racing.

"_Call me later, I want the deets. Love you, K, have fun, but not too much! We don't need a pregnant cheerleader do we?" _I could feel Maeve smirking right now. Such great friends I have, right? Notice the heavy intended use of sarcasm there.

"Yes I know, you told me that, like, what? Five times already. I'll call you after I get home. And ew, gross, I have morals, M, and I have standards too," I whined.

"_Whatevs, K, talk to you later! Totes ma gotes. See ya, best friend,"_ the way she pronounced "best friends" made it seem like "beth frands".

"Bye, M, talk to you in a few," I said, "hours. Few hours." And with that, we both hung up. I took another look in the mirror and proceeded downstairs.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"_K! What's up! How'd it go? Why are you calling so early?" _An all too ecstatic Maeve Benson picked up.

"M," I breathed.

"_K, what's wrong? What happened?"_ Maeve's voice dripping with worry said.

"Nothing happened. I've been sitting in the same place for the past hour and a half," I confessed.

"_You mean-"_

"Yeah. That's exactly what I mean. I don't know M, maybe I'm just not meant to-"

"_K, this is not your fault. If anything, it's-"_

"No, Maeve. It's okay. I think I'm just going to go change out of this outfit and curl into bed," I interrupted.

"_Do you want me to come over?"_

I looked at the clock in the dining room, it read 8:45. "No, it's okay. I'll just see you tomorrow at school."

"_You sure, K?"_

"Yeah, I'm sure."

"_Alright, well don't forget your cheer stuff. We got practice after school. Tomorrow's the last practice before the first home game."_

"It's already packed," I chuckled, attempting to lighten the mood. "Bye, M, love you."

"_Love you, too, K. And don't worry, I've got your back in this,"_ Maeve said and hung up.

I went up to my room, undressed and put a pair of Juicy sweats and a tank top. I sat down in front of my vanity and wiped off the make-up that took me fifteen minutes to put on. I tied my soft curls into a bun and climbed into bed. I checked my phone one last time, to see if a message came with a very good reason. But none did.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

_Honk. Honk._

"Alright, mom, I'm off," I said, climbing off the high stool and picking up my Chanel school bag.

"Bye, hun. You look hot, by the way," my mother chuckled.

"Gosh, mom. Eugh. Please don't ever say that again," I shivered.

"Oh come on, I'm not _that_ old," she retorted.

"Okay, bye mom!" I shouted, wanting to get out of the house as fast as possible.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Hey, M," I cheerfully said, opening my locker.

"K, you talked to, ahem, yet?" she questioned.

I shook my head, putting my cheer bag in the locker and taking my books out.

"You know you're going to have to face it soon," she sighed.

"I know. It's just; I don't know what I'm going to say. How I'm supposed to react. Am I supposed to be mad, or upset? I feel so stupid right now," I closed my locker door a little bit too hard.

"Looks to me like you're mad," Maeve chuckled. I shot her a look. "Sorry, not helping, my bad."

"Yeah, you got that right," I teased.

"Speaking of bad," Maeve said, looking over my shoulders. I turned around, following her gaze and saw Matt making his way over.

"Here goes nothing," I whispered.

"Kaylie," the deep voice greeted. I took a deep breath, looked up at Maeve, before turning to face him.

"I'm going to leave you two alone, to talk. See you in class, K," and with that, Maeve left.

"So," I started, feeling the atmosphere become denser and denser.

"I'm so sorry," he let out. That's it. You're just going to give me that? A three-word answer? You kidding me?

"That's it? No, "I'm sorry, my parents made me stay home babysit" or, "I forgot about our date," or "Sorry, I figured you're just not the girl for me"? Just "I'm so sorry"? Don't you think I deserve more than that? After all, I did wait, in my living room, all dressed up, for one and a half hours for Mr. No Show," I accused him.

"Kaylie, I just – I,"

"What? No valid excuse?" I know I'm being a bitch right now. But hey, I have the right to. This guy stood me up. He didn't even send me a text message, a call, or anything. And now, standing in front of me, he has the nerve to _think_ that I will forgive him just because he said, "I'm so sorry"?

"Kaylie, if you would just listen to me!" he shouted. The entire hall became silent and turned towards us.

"Well you got everyone's attention. Might as well let them listen in to our break up. Oh wait, it's not a break up cause we never got the chance," I spat.

"Would you just chill?" he snapped at me.

"Sorry, I'm listening," I crossed my hands over my chest.

"Alright, I did not go through with our date last night because, I – I just, I can't go out with you, okay?" he tried explaining.

"And why can't you go out with me?"

"Bro code," he simply said. What does that even mean?

"Bro code. Bro code? Bro – I'm trying to understand what the heck those two words mean, and I just can't figure it out. Enlighten me?"

"Well it's an entire book, with chapters and everything, that-"

"No, I know what the Bro Code is," I chuckled. "What I don't understand is how this relates to you missing our date last night."

"I can't tell you," he said, leaning his back against the lockers. Everyone's eyes were still on us. Why can't they go do whatever it was they were doing before? I'm trying to have a private conversation here.

"Quit it with the looks," looks like Matt beat me to it. Everyone resumed what they were doing, mumbling quietly. They obviously still want to be able to hear what's going on between the two of us.

"Well?" I looked at him. He closed his eyes, and took a deep breath.

"I can't tell you," he breathed.

"Come on, Matt, I need more than that."

"I can't, Kaylie."

"Look, I'm trying my best to forgive you right now. That's a huge deal. I don't forgive people easily, especially guys who miss dates without a good enough reason," I sighed.

"Kaylie," he turned to look at me and I pulled the best sad face possible. He closed his eyes, once again. "Alright fine. But if anyone asks, you didn't hear it from me."

"Yay!" I celebrated quietly, which earned a chuckle from Matt.

"It's cause of Austin," he finally said.

"Austin? How does Austin-"

"Don't interrupt. Just listen. When I'm done, then you can interject," he put his hand up to silence me. I bit on my bottom lip to stop myself from putting input into our conversation.

"I did it for Austin. The guy likes you. Before I asked you out on a date, he told me he might have feelings for you. May. It wasn't definite. So then I took that as a chance to ask you out, because, Kaylie, you're freaking beautiful," I blushed. "So after Starbucks, at football practice, Austin wasn't exactly thrilled with me. He'd keep throwing passes that were either too short or too long, but he made it look like it was my fault. Yeah, he's that good of a quarterback. Anyways, during water break, I demanded him to tell me why he's being an asshole to me. And he said it was because I broke the bro code. I didn't understand what he was ranting about, so I asked him to explain – much like you are right now. He told me that when a guy tells his best friend that he "may" be into a girl, that girl is not to be touched. And I did the opposite. I asked you out on a date. So then, to mend my friendship with him, I told him I wouldn't go on the date with you," he looked at me. I stayed silent, waiting for him to finish. "This is the moment where you can say whatever you want, you know? I'm done."

"Oh!" I laughed. "Okay, Austin made you do that? Why didn't you just tell me in the first place?"

"Look, Kaylie, I see the way he looks and you and the way you look at him. It's obvious there's something there. I still don't understand why you said "yes" to my date proposal in the first place anyways."

"To be honest, I don't think I was thinking straight when I said "yes" to you. I don't mean it in a bad way. You're, like, the perfect guy. Trust me. You got the charms, the looks, the popularity, the politeness, everything. I guess I was ecstatic that a guy asked me out first day of school, you know? I'm sorry if I led you on or whatever. But truth is, you're right. Me and Austin, I think there's something there."

"Well, then, Kaylie, go get your man," he chuckled.

"Well, that was a _huge_ misunderstanding," I said, putting my right arm on his shoulder.

"I think "huge" doesn't cut it, Kales. Friends?"

"I wouldn't have it any other way," I said, wrapping both my arms around his neck, his finding their way around my waist.

"I'm going to go find Austin,' I unwrapped myself from his arms.

"Hey, remember, you heard nothing from me," he shook his head.

"What? Then whom was I supposed to hear this from?" I stared at him.

"I don't know, Maeve or Nicks," he shrugged.

"Ugh! Looks like I gotta get my flirt on," I teased, and we both broke into a fit of laughter.

"Glad you two worked things out," I heard Maeve say. I tried controlling my laughter, while clutching my stomach.

"H-hey, Maeve," I said, in between laughs. I finally calmed down and looked up. Maeve was not the only one standing in front of us. There was Nicky, and Austin. "Hey Nicky, Austin," I smiled at Austin, and he returned it.

"So, you and Matt an item or what?" Nicky asked bluntly.

"Seriously Nick? Me and Kaylie?" we both looked at each other and another round of laughter exploded from our lungs. Nicky looked confused.

"What am I missing here?" Nicky said, scratching the back of his head – a habit of his when he was confused.

"N, there's nothing going on between Matt and I. We're strictly friends," I aimed that at Austin, who was now smiling.

"That's good to know," Austin smirked and winked at me.

"What? I thought you guys had a date last night?" Nick questioned, still oblivious to the whole situation.

"Was a big misunderstanding," Matt filled him in. Nick just nodded.

"Anyways, kids, we have got to get to class, otherwise we're risking tardies," Maeve said. We all nodded. We all headed in the same direction as we had the same first class – US History. I wrapped one of my arms around Matt's waist, the other around Austin's. Maeve was on the other side of Austin's and next to her was Nick. The boys wrapped their burly arms around our petite frames and we walked like that, in a line, to US History.

"You know, M, I think we must change the name of our group," I said.

"What? Why?" she asked, confused.

"We can't go by "Fab Four" is there are five of us, can we?" I smirked.

"That's right! We are no longer the Fab Four; it's the Fab Five, now! Welcome to the group, Matthew Drew Bradley," Meave giggled.

"For reals guys? Aw, that's sweet! Fab Five to the end, huh?" Matt beamed. We all laughed at our own silliness.

"Top three football players and top two cheerleaders. We really are the best," Austin said.

"Conceited much?" Nicky joked.

"Hey, I'm not being conceited if I'm including four other people," he retaliated.

"Good point," Nicky gave in.

"You know what surprises me?" I chimed in. They all turned their heads to look at me. "How come the juniors in this school are so powerful? Isn't it usually the seniors?"

"Darling, our senior class doesn't really fall under the "sporty" category. Our senior class is, let's just say, more on the educational side of things. So yes, they are the most powerful educational-wise, but our class takes the trophy for the sports," Maeve explains.

"That makes more sense. Fab Five to the end!" I cheered.

"Fab Five!" We all screamed in the now empty hallways.

"Well, well, well, will you five be joining the class or continue shouting in the hallways?" the teacher, who I assume is Mrs. Sanchez, says, looking at the five of us with a less than approving face.

"Sorry, Mrs. Sanchez, we got caught up in our conversation," Nicky began.

"Won't happen again," Austin chimed in.

"We're truly sorry," Matt finished. The three boys together definitely knew how to lighten up the mood, they were so, incredibly charming! Mrs. Sanchez broke out into a smile.

"Well, alright, just don't make sure you guys do that again. Go take your seats in the middle, right there, where the empty seats are," she pointed to the vacant area in the dead center of class.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Okay, girls! Listen up!" Maeve said, clapping her hands, earning the attention of the varsity cheer squad. "You may or may not know already, this is Kaylie Cruz."

"Hey everyone! Yup, I'm Kaylie Cruz. I'm so excited that Maeve let me join in. It's really an honor, seeing as I'm a new student here," I rambled. Everyone nodded and smiled in return.

"Alright guys, first game is tomorrow. What we're going to do today is just perfect our halftime routine," Maeve announced.

"But what about the other cheers? Doesn't Kaylie have to learn them?" one of the girl asked.

"Oh, don't worry about that Courtney. I filled Kaylie in yesterday. We had an intense cheer workout, five hours straight," Maeve said. Courtney nodded in understanding. "Alright, up we get girls. We're moving out."

"What?" the cheerleaders said in unison.

"Don't be so gullible, we're training on the field," Maeve shook her head.

"But, the varsity footballers would know what our routine is, and that's not good," a blondie yelped.

"Uh, yeah, hi. It doesn't matter if the football team sees our half time routine, they're going to see it anyways, so, what's the deal?" I interjected. Seriously, was she that much of an air head to be so…I don't know how you put it, stupid?

"Kaylie's right. And how many times have I told you guys this? It doesn't matter if the football team sees our cheers," Maeve said. "Now come on, let's get going."

We stepped out of the cool, air-conditioned gym into the hot, sticky, and sunny field. The football team were doing their warm ups, which consisted of pull-ups, sit ups, hurdles, whatever you could think of. I scanned the mass of guys in search of the three familiar faces. I stumbled upon Austin's first, his eyes locking into mine. I smiled, blushed and looked down. When I gathered enough courage to look back up, he was still smiling at me. My heart began to flutter.

"Alright girls, we're going to go on a mile jog," Maeve said, earning groans from the team. I don't understand what the problem is with a mile run? It's not even that bad. "Stop the groaning otherwise I'm going to make it a two-mile run."

We all put our bags down along the side and stood at the starting line on the track. We started running at the same time and as fast as we started, Maeve and I pulled in front of the pack. The guys were whistling at us, obviously taking advantage of the rear view. The girls giggled while Maeve and I ignored them.

"I don't understand what they're problem is. I think it's perverted how the guys check us out when we run. Like seriously?" I expressed my frustration to Maeve.

"Don't worry K, you'll get used to it. And plus, I know you like the fact that Austin's checking you out. Don't hide it," Maeve replied.

"What? Austin? Me? Psh," I tried, unsuccessfully might I add, to keep my blush from appearing.

"I knew it. You and Austin has the hots for each other!" Maeve shouted in my ear before taking in a deep breath.

"Pfft, no. No, I don't," I lied.

"Oh please Kaylie, I can see it all over your face."

"Alright fine, don't tell anyone," I warned her.

"Trust me K, I don't need to tell anyone for everyone to know," she smirked.

I looked around the stadium for the first time since I came down here. Polished bleachers with comfortable enough looking seats. "Taft High" was painted on the back wall of the bleachers with a commentator tower built above the top steps of the bleachers. The football field was marked with white lines, no other colors. Seems like this field was dedicated for football only. I wasn't looking where I was going as the next thing I knew, I was hit from my side and fell towards the ground. I felt the impact of it and immediately, someone else fell on top of me.

My eyes were closed so I wasn't sure whom it was then fell on top of me.

"Oh my god, K, I'm so sorry!" a familiar voice cried out. I finally opened my eyes and they refocused onto the football player that was lying on top of me.

"Uh, h-he- uh, n-no, it's o-okay," I stuttered. Since when was I nervous in front of guys? Oh right, I remember now. Since the day I met Austin Tucker.

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><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> Alright, a little bit of Auslie / KayAus near the end :) so we guess you all can see where this story is heading. We JUST finished this chapter. Like 45 minutes ago. So what'd you think?

Thank you for all the reviews we got. All thirty of them. We really appreciate them! We would list all of it here, but it would take a while, so you know who you reviewers are. LOVE YOU GUYS SO MUCH :D

So what'd you think about this chapter?

One last thing, we keep getting questions on whether or not we review our own stories because there are a lot of anon reviews in our stories. Our answer is, "No, we do not review our own stories". We think that reviewing our own stories is shady. If we do review our own stories, it means we haven no confidence in them. And truth is, we have a lot of confidence in what we write. Why would we review our own stories? We don't have that amount of time, as evident by the lack of updating the past few weeks. The only reason our previous five stories were able to come up every single day was because we wrote it over the summer. But no, we don't review our own stories. Two people have asked us whether or not we reviewed our own stories. We already said it once in "A well kept secret", and we're repeating it here. Why in the world would we do something as cheap as that? We're not that kind of people. And honestly, those who are anons probably don't want to make an account just for reviewing stories. And plus, in the Make It or Break It fandom, not a lot of people are actually active, and so not a lot have actual accounts. So we're just drilling it in your heads that **we do not review our own stories****.**

_**REVIEW!**_

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**_xoxo, S & T._**


	5. Chapter 5

**Author's note:** Alright! Nine days since the last update :) We're getting faster :)

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><p><strong>Chapter Five<strong>

I can see the smirk playing at Austin's lips. Damn it. Damn my stuttering. Damn my life right at this moment. I know for sure I'm not going to hear the end of this.

"Tucker!" a really manly voice called out, one I'm assuming belonged to the football coach.

"Damn it. I was enjoying this position," Austin cursed under his breath. I let out a small chuckle and Austin looked me in the eyes. Oh yeah, I'm a goner. I was lost in those eyes, those beautiful eyes that belonged to the one and only Austin Tucker.

"Hey! Get off of her before I call the deans down!" the coach yelled again.

"A-Austin, ma-maybe you should, you know, get off me?" I attempted to say, but failed as I stuttered.

"Whatever you want, Kales," Austin breathed. His face was so close to mine. I flickered my eyes to his lips and when I looked back up, he was once again smirking at me.

"Austin," I told him again.

"What?" Austin asked, loud enough so that only I could hear.

"Uh, your coach is right behind you," I said, but only after I took a glance at the fuming coach.

"Oh, well then maybe I should stand up now," he teased.

"No duh," I laughed along with him. All too soon, I felt his weight leave my body and for a moment there, I felt alone.

"Here, I'll help you up," Austin said, smiling while reaching for my hands. I held his hand and could feel the electricity cursing through my body. I don't know about him, but hell, I like this guy.

"Thanks, A," I replied, my eyes not leaving his. He moved in for a hug.

"You look hot in that cheer practice outfit of yours," Austin whispered in my ear, causing the hairs at the back of my neck to stand up.

"I'll look better in the cheer uniform with your jersey over," I said in retaliation.

"Hell yes," he muttered.

"Alright. You're getting it. Two laps around the field. Now!" the coach said before yanking Austin away from me by his shirt. Austin simply groaned and before sprinting the laps, he winked at me.

"So, you two, want to tell me what's going on?" Maeve asked, walking up behind me.

"I like that guy," I simply replied.

"Oh, my friend, I knew it," Maeve smirked, wrapping one of her lean arms around my shoulders. "It's just a matter of time before you two become a couple."

"I hope so. Speaking of couples, you and my best friend, Nicky. Want to tell me about that?" I looked at her.

"Nick and I? What? No," Maeve said unconvincingly.

"Uh huh. When you're open to talk about it, you know I'm all ears," I smirked and we headed to the group of panting cheerleaders.

"Alright girls, let's run through our routine," Maeve clapped her hands before reaching down to press the Play button on the disc player.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Alright! That's a wrap, girls! Take a seat," Maeve said after we finished our halftime routine for the hundredth time today. "Okay, so now, we need to go ask the guys for their jerseys. Varsity, only varsity guys, junior varsity, well you know who to ask for it from. The only two guys that are off limits right now are Austin and Nicky. We'd add on Matt, but since Kaylie and I are going to take Austin's and Nicky's, Matt's jersey is open. So varsity, I suggest you run as fast as those legs of yours could take you and get Matt's. Alright?"

"Got it," the girls chorused.

"Everybody ready? Go!" Maeve shouted and the next thing I knew, I was being trampled by a bunch of girls running towards the football team that was casually standing in the middle of the field, waiting for us with smiles on their faces.

"You know, we shouldn't give the footballers too much power in this school," I said to Maeve.

"You said it, Kales, but what shall we do?" Maeve nudged me.

"Dunno, break their hearts and pride?" I joked.

"Only if, K, only if," Maeve replied.

"Hey, girls," Nicky greeted us.

"Hey, N," Maeve and I said simultaneously, engulfing Nicky in a hug.

"Where's my hug?" Austin asked, opening his arms.

"You got more than a hug from Miss Kaylie over here, so no hugs from her, only me," Maeve teased.

"What? That's no fair, and plus, I didn't get any more than a hug from Kales," Austin said after breaking away from Maeve's hug.

"Yes you did, Austin. I remember you being right on top of her for, like, five minutes. None of you were budging until Coach started yelling," Nicky clarified.

"What? That's nothing. I believe Austin deserves a hug," I stated and moved towards Austin. My arms moved around his neck; his, my waist. Whenever Austin hugs me, it feels as if I'm whole again. I know it's early to be thinking that he's "the one", considering the fact that we aren't even dating, but I honestly, truly believe he's my other half.

"You two can let go now," Nicky coughed. We pulled apart and I was sporting a light shade of pink on my cheeks.

"Kaylie and Austin, sitting in a tree, K-I-S-S-I-N-G. First comes-"

"Shut up, Maeve," I interrupted her and I'm pretty sure the light pink turned into crimson red.

"Maeve, Kaylie! I just got trampled by, like, your entire varsity cheer squad ripping my jersey away from my hands. Care to explain?" We turned around and faced Matt, his hair all messed up and one of his socks weren't pulled up properly.

I laughed, "What happened to you?"

"I just said: I got trampled by the varsity cheer squad," he said through gritted teeth, trying to smooth his hair out.

"Oh right. Yeah. I told the girls that you were the most eligible bachelor on the varsity football team aside from Austin and Nicky. And since I was taking Nicky's jersey and Kaylie was taking Austin's, we told them that the girl who could get to you the fastest would get your jersey," Maeve explained.

"Sorry bout that," I told Matt and gave him a hug – which did not last as long as Austin's.

"Speaking of jerseys! Here, Maeve," Nicky said while digging through his duffel bag to find his away jersey.

"Thanks. You're number 8 this year?" Maeve took Nicky's jersey and put it in her duffel bag.

I waited for Austin to pull out his jersey to give to me, but he never did, so I gave him a look.

He seemed to understand my look as he quickly said; "You'll find it tomorrow morning."

"What if I don't find it?"

"You will, you'll see," he told me.

"Will you at least tell me what your number is?"

"Seven."

"Seven. That's good. That's my lucky number," I told him as he wrapped one of his arms around my shoulders.

"Well in that case, you're my lucky charm," he flirted. I smiled up at him and could see Maeve jumping up and down on the inside.

"Kaylie!" a voice called out. I whipped my head in their direction and saw Isabelle running towards me.

"Hey!" I called out.

"So tomorrow we have a pep rally for the football team here, during lunch, obviously you know that."

"Yeah," I chuckled.

"Well, we – as in the singing group – is begging you to perform. Tomorrow. On stage. Please? You're like the best. So please? Please? Please?" Isabelle put on her pouty face and who am I to say no to her? She's so sweet. But then again, there's the stage fright of mine. What am I going to do? I looked around at my friends and saw they were nodding their head, and smiling in encouragement.

"Alright, fine. What song do I have to sing?" I gave in.

"Yes!" she did a mini jump. "Well, any song you want. But considering you're a cheerleader, probably a song for one of the football players."

"What? I have to sing a song about the football players?" I asked her, shocked.

"No! Like a song about a football player. You know, him," Isabelle flicked her eyes to Austin and I knew exactly what she meant. I blushed.

"Oh, right. Um, yeah. Sure. During lunch, right?"

"Yup! But you get to get out of class ten minutes early to do sound check and all," she replied before giving me a hug. "Well, I gotta get going. Dinner with the 'rents. See you tomorrow!"

"Bye!" the five of us chorused after Isabelle.

"So what are you going to sing? And for who?" Nicky asked.

"Oh my god. Are you seriously that stupid? Who else?" Maeve said.

"Oh!" Nicky exclaimed as realization finally caught up with him.

"So I guess the most important question is: what are you going to sing?" Matt asked.

Good question. I don't know. I simply shrugged.

"You'll figure it out before tomorrow," Austin encouraged.

"I hope so," I muttered.

"Let's get going. It's eight," Maeve said. We all left the field together and at our parking lots, we bid farewell and left to our respective cars.

What am I going to sing? I can't just pick _any_ song, cause I'm singing it to Austin.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Oh! My baby girl looks so hot in that outfit!" my mother, who is, I believe, hyper right now, greeted me as I walked into the kitchen.

"Oh, gosh. Mom. Please don't say that," I grumbled.

"But you do look hot! Right hon?" she turned to my dad.

"I think the correct term, seeing as I am her dad, is beautiful. You look beautiful, nena," my dad corrected my mom. I smiled gratefully at him.

"Alright, well I'm off," I got up out of my chair after scoffing down a toast.

"Bye! We'll be at your game tonight!" my mom called after me. Oh yeah, that's right. My parents went to every single one of my games, competitions, conferences, everything, you name it. It was one of our family traditions. I hopped into my car and drove to school.

I parked my car in an empty parking spot. I was considerably early for school. First period bell wouldn't ring for another thirty minutes. I walked into school and towards my locker. Guys were staring me down, undeniably undressing me with their eyes. Guys were giving me wolf whistles.

"Hey, there," someone called out. I turned to see who was talking to me and was face to face with a guy, obviously.

"You're the new girl, right?"

"Yeah. Do I know you?" I asked.

"I'm a senior here."

"Okay. Well, nice to meet you. See you later!"

"Hey, hey, hey. Where do you think you're going?"

Oh god. Please, please, help me out of this situation. "I'm going to my locker. Now if you will, bye," I said harsher than I should have, but hey, this guy was creeping me out.

I power walked all the way to my locker, ignoring all the wolf whistles and comments I got.

I sighed as I reached my locker; I calmly twisted the knob until the lock opened. In my locker, was Austin's jersey. I smiled and pulled the jersey out, cradling it on one of my arms, while putting my books inside. I was about to close my locker but I saw a piece of paper stuck onto the inside of the door with my name in horrible guy writing. I carefully took the piece of paper and unfolded it.

"_Hey Kaylie!_

_First off, you're probably wondering how I got into your locker, well, the janitor kind of helped me out._

_Don't put the jersey on just yet. You gotta wait until you see me, and then put it on, okay? Promise?_

_I can't wait to hear you sing during lunch, I know you're going to be awesome. _

_Well, I should be at school soon, so WAIT. Alright? WAIT. You got it?_

_With love,_

_Austin."_

That was so cute. I put the note into my bag and closed my locker. As if on time, Austin came rushing to me right as I turned to go to first period. He ran straight towards me and engulfed me a hug. He didn't slow down, so his momentum made me step backwards.

"Hey Austin," I chuckled while we let each other go.

"You got the shirt? And the note?" He asked, still out of breath.

"Calm down, Austin. Take a breath. And yeah, I did. It's cute. Thank you," I smiled up at him.

"Well, do you want to know why I asked you to wait?" he asked and I shook my head.

"It's cause I want to be the first person to see you in my jersey," he said.

"That's so cheesy," I giggled.

"Yeah, well, whatever," he shrugged.

"I like it," I assured him. I held out my books and my bag, to which he happily took. I pulled over his jersey and of course, it was three sizes bigger than I was. It looked like I was wearing a tent. I laughed.

"What's so funny?" he questioned, confused.

"It looks like I'm wearing a tent," I replied.

"Oh, crap. Didn't think about that. Shit," he mumbled.

"Hey, it's okay," I touched his face and made him look at me. "I'll just tie it back. Don't worry about it." I tied a knot at the back of the jersey and hid it on the inside. It was still baggy for my shoulders and my torso, but at least it was tight around my waist. I went on my tiptoes and gave him a quick peck on the cheeks.

"Hi, yeah, sorry to interrupt but can we take a quick picture of you guys? You know, for the yearbook?" I turned around and a girl with a professional camera was looking at us.

"Go ahead," Austin replied. He pulled me next to him and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. Mine automatically found their away around his waist and we both adorned huge smiles.

"That's a good picture, sure to make the sports page," the girl told us.

"Hey, you can't only put a picture of the two of them on there. You have to have a picture of the Fab Five as well!" Maeve exclaimed, and I chuckled.

"Uh, okay. I'll take another," the girl said. Matt stood next to me, Maeve next to Austin and Nicky next to Maeve. We all had our arms wrapped around one another and we smiled at the camera.

"That's probably the best picture I've ever taken here at Taft," the girl said.

"Good. That better go on the front page," Maeve winked.

"I'll make sure of it," the girl replied before scurrying away.

"Aw, look at you two, K you look so cute in Austin's jersey," Maeve beamed.

"Thanks, M," I blushed, looking down at the floor.

"So, do you know what song you're going to sing?" Nicky asked.

"Yup," I popped the 'p'.

"What is it?" Matt asked.

I shook my head furiously, "You guys have got to wait until lunch to hear it. My lips are sealed until then."

"Whatever song you sing, I know Austin will love it no matter what," Maeve said.

"Who said it was directed to me?" Austin stated. Wow, could he be any dumber?

"Seriously? Only blind people would know it's not directed to you," Nicky said.

"Are you saying I'm blind?" Austin retaliated, which earned laughs from the rest of us.

"Oh, A, you're too cute," I said before ruffling his hair.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Kaylie Cruz, you may be excused from class," Mr. Williams announced ten minutes before class ended. I gathered my things and got out from my seat.

"Bye, see you in a few," I said to Austin and he simply winked at me. My heart began to flutter and my stomach did back flips.

"Homework assignment is to read chapters 1 through 3 of The Scarlet Letter. Do not spark note it over the weekend, because there may be a quiz on it on Tuesday. So actually read the book," Mr. Williams narrowed his eyes at me.

"Will do, Mr. W," I told him, flashing my million-dollar smile, and walked out of the class. I found my way to the quad and saw Isabelle rushing around the stage, putting up everything I asked her to. She's a really good friend.

"Hey, Is," I said, putting my bag and folders at the back of the stage.

"Kaylie! You're here! Is this okay? You wanted it like this, right?" Isabelle started rambling.

"Yeah, I couldn't have done it better, thank you," I gave her a hug.

There was a chair in the center of the stage and a mike in front of it. I would play the guitar by myself, but too bad I don't know how. So I asked the school's band to play back up for me.

Too fast for my liking, the bell that indicated lunch rang and I instantly became nervous. I hopped off the stage and waited for my cue.

"Good luck, Kales," a voice said as I felt a pair of strong, burly arms wrap themselves around my waist. I slightly jumped and turned around.

"Austin! Jeez, you scared me!" I smacked him across his chest.

"Sorry. And stop shaking, you'll be fine. Trust me," he gave me a hug and I snuggled my head against his chest.

"Thanks, Austin. Now go, get a seat before all the good ones are gone," I pushed him in the direction of the audience.

"You want me to go away?" he said, putting his hands over his heart, acting hurt.

"No! Not like that, just go take a seat, and save me a seat," I smiled at him. He gave me a quick kiss on my cheeks and strutted off to the front of the stage.

For the next ten or so minutes, we all enjoyed watching the other acts, some funny, some awkward, while some were plain boring.

"Next up, we have Kaylie Cruz. She's a new student here at Taft. Some of you may know her, but for those who don't, you'll get to know her now. Without further ado, we have Kaylie Cruz, taking the stage for Taft High's music department!" the MC announced. I took a deep breath and stepped onto the stage. When I was in view, I got whistles from the guys. Seriously, how many times a day can guys do this? Well, maybe it's because I was wearing my cheer uniform with Austin's jersey.

I sat myself on the stool and smiled at the audience.

"Hey, everyone. I'm Kaylie. As you can probably guess, I'm a cheerleader, and I'm dedicating this song to a guy out there – you know who you are," I spoke into the microphone and looked directly at Austin during the last part of my speech. He smiled encouragingly at me. I turned around and nodded my head at the band, signaling for them to start the music.

"_Summer __after high school when we first met_

_We make out in your Mustang to Radiohead_

_And on my 18th Birthday_

_We got matching tattoos_

_Used to steal your parents' liquor_

_And climb to the roof_

_Talk about our future_

_Like we had a clue_

_Never planned that one day_

_I'd be losing you_

_In another life_

_I would be your girl_

_We keep all our promises_

_Be us against the world_

_In another life_

_I would make you stay_

_So I don't have to say_

_You were the one that got away_

_The one that got away_

_I was June and you were my Johnny Cash_

_Never one without the other we made a pact_

_Sometimes when I miss you_

_I put those records on_

_Someone said you had your tattoo removed_

_Saw you downtown singing the Blues_

_It's time to face the music_

_I'm no longer your muse_

_But in another life_

_I would be your girl_

_We keep all our promises_

_Be us against the world_

_In another life_

_I would make you stay_

_So I don't have to say_

_You were the one that got away_

_The one that got away_

_The o-o-o-o-o-one _

_The one that got away_

_All this money can't buy me a time machine _

_Can't replace you with a million rings _

_I shoulda told you what you meant to me _

_'Cause now I pay the price_

_In another life_

_I would be your girl_

_We keep all our promises_

_Be us against the world_

_In another life_

_I would make you stay_

_So I don't have to say_

_You were the one that got away_

_The one that got away_

_The o-o-o-o-o-one _

_In another life_

_I would make you stay_

_So I don't have to say_

_You were the one that got away_

_The one that got away."_

When I finished, a huge roar of cheers and claps erupted from the audience. I stood up, took a bow, and smiled. The next thing I knew, Austin leapt onto the stage and pulled me into his arms, twirling me in circles. I wrapped my arms around his neck and put my into the crook of his neck while smiling like a doofus.

Let's just say Austin Tucker has me hooked.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> We do not own the song Kaylie uses in this chapter, the amazing Katy Perry owns it. This is one our favorite song right now and we thought it kinda fits with this chapter, sorta, maybe.

Midnight Rose 97: yes, we know! Cliffie! That's the reaction we wanted out from our readers :) thanks for being the first to review for the last chapter :) you rock! Depending on what classes you take, Junior Year can either be interesting or bad. But on the bright side, you get POWDERPUFF and PROM :D we thought about Matt texting Kaylie, but to make it more interesting, we did it like that :) we checked out the song you told us about, and that is true! Related to that chapter pretty well :D DEFINITELY LUCKY. too bad it wasn't on November 11th :P

MaximumMelody: thank you for the kindness :) and well, here's the next chapter, obviously!

spygirl01: we thought about that possibility. But we don't think you could have been that hurt after being knocked onto the floor, so we decided to keep it like this. Thanks for the idea though! Keep giving us ideas, and who knows? They might eventually make it into the story :)

alex: as we've said before and we're going to repeat it: we do **not** review our own stories. we think that's shady, and we don't have the time to waste it on something as sad as that :)

Ghostwriter626: thanks for the comment!

Mare: thank you! hope you enjoyed this chapter!

Ellen: well I think your M and N question was answered in this chapter! But in case it didn't: No, M & N are not together, they have a "thing" but do expect Micky/Naeve in the future!

Scarlett: thank you for the idea! Maybe! Who knows! We don't even know what chapter six is going to be like, so yeah. We'll see :)

**Last chapter:** eight reviews, I think you readers could have done better than eight seeing as we did have 100+ visitors for this story. We're not begging for reviews, we just really like to see how the readers react to our stories :)

**Weekly challenge:** alright, christmas is in a week! So of course the next chapter up would have something to do with Christmas! Or if we work hard enough, two chapters would be up in the next week, which means chapter six would be THE GAME, and chapter seven would be CHRISTMAS. So this week's challenge (winner will be sent a private message, so yes, you need an account to enter this challenge). The question: WHO IS OUR FAVORITE BAND RIGHT NOW: a) One Direction; b) Backstreet Boys; c) The Wanted; d) Jonas Brothers. Answer as a review and the first person to get it right will win the prize. The prize: you get to co-write the CHRISTMAS chapter with us! So remember! ANSWER THE QUESTION AND FINGERS CROSS YOU'RE THE FIRST TO GET IT RIGHT. WINNER WILL BE PRIVATE MESSAGED. IF YOU DO **NOT** HAVE AN ACCOUNT, WRITE THE ANSWER AND YOUR EMAIL IN THE REVIEW :)

**Alright, hope you guys enjoyed this as much as we enjoyed writing this chapter :)**

_**REVIEW!**_

__**Love,**

**S & T xx**


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter Six**

"Kiss her!" someone screamed and right after, people began chanting it over and over again. Oh gosh. I can feel my cheeks getting warm and I can feel Austin pulling out our embrace. If he kisses me right here and right now, what am I going to do? I looked up into Austin's eyes and could see them glimmering with hope. I gave him a cheeky smile and he returned his smirk that I got used to.

The palm of his hands caressed my face and his thumbs were tracing smooth circles on my cheeks. He leaned forward and my eyes fluttered close on instincts. The moment his lips touched mind, the world no longer existed to me. It was just me and him, in our own little world, having the time of our lives.

I could feel fireworks erupting in my mind. There's no doubt after this that Austin and I were meant to be.

When we pulled apart from our kiss, the rest of the world returned. I could hear the piercing cheers from the student body, but I didn't care. I had Austin in front of me. Austin kissed me. We kissed. I felt fireworks. That's all that mattered.

But as everything sunk in, I had doubts. Where do Austin and I stand right now? I mean, we just kissed, but what if that's it? What if the only reason he kissed me was because of the commanding chants of the crowd? My smile faltered as all these possibilities ran through my head.

"What's wrong?" Austin asked softly. Should I tell him what's on my mind? Or should I just go along with it?

"Uh…I just…what if. I mean…no it's nothing. Don't worry about it," I told him and faked a smile. He smiled back and took my hands. We walked off the stage and towards Matt, Maeve and Nicky.

"Kaylie, I need to talk to you," Maeve said all to cheerily.

"Alright, let's go. I need to get some food anyways," I shrugged and began walking towards the cafeteria.

"K, what's wrong?" Maeve asked. "Shouldn't you be happy now that you and Mr. Tucker kissed?"

"Yeah, I know. But I was thinking, what if he only kissed me because the crowd wanted us to?" I explained, folding my arms across my chest.

"Kaylie, are you kidding me right now?"

"What? I mean, come on, what does Mr. Hot-shot want to do with me anyways?" I mumbled.

"Kaylie. Listen to me," she said as we got in line for lunch. "He's talked to me about you. That guy is like a five year old with a new car toy. He likes you so much, hell, he might even love you. So don't you dare think that he only did that to please the crowd. Austin's so much better than that. He doesn't use people for his own good."

"I don't know. I've only known him for five days, so to be honest, I don't actually know him that well," I told Maeve.

"Hey Kaylie, you were amazing up there," someone from the other lunch lines told me. I looked towards the group and turns out; they were on the varsity football team.

"Thanks guys," I smiled at them.

"So you and Austin? You two together?" one of them asked.

"I don't-"

"Yeah, they're together. So don't even think about hooking up with her, Chad," Maeve interrupted and flicked her hair.

"Oh come on Maeve, give me more credit than that. I'm not going to hook up with Cruz here; I was thinking we both could go on a date. And plus, you know Austin doesn't date girls," Chad smirked.

"Um, Chad, is it? Can I get back to you on that offer a little bit later? I just need some privacy with Maeve right now," I told him.

He nodded, "Alright. See you around."

"Maeve, what did he mean by "Austin doesn't date girls"?" I asked her.

"Don't listen to Chad, K, he doesn't know what he's talking about," Maeve said. However I don't believe her.

"Maeve, I know you're lying to me. So just tell me now, instead of me finding out later," I encouraged.

"Alright, fine. But if Austin asks, you didn't hear this from me," Maeve warned.

"Yeah, I know. If anything, its Chad's fault," I smiled.

"Alright. So I don't know if you believe this or not, but Austin's not the boyfriend type. He doesn't have girlfriends. He's the king of hook ups. You know, hump and dump, but without the humping part. Austin doesn't date. He has fun for however long he wants, he never asks anyone on a date, or to be his girlfriend. It's more of a friends-with-benefit sort of thing, but for a short amount of time," Maeve breathed.

"So you're saying that no matter what I do, I'll just be Kaylie Cruz, Austin's friend, and never Kaylie Cruz, Austin's girlfriend?" my heart ached.

"I don't know, Kales. It's hard with Austin. He changes so fast. But one thing I know for sure, he likes you. Whether or not he asks you out on a date or asks you to be his girlfriend, then that's for him to choose, we can't force him into it," Maeve sighed.

"So what am I supposed to do? Just sit around and wait for him to make up his mind? Maeve, I sang my heart out just now. I have stage fright, or used to have stage fright. Because of him I went on that stage and sang. I basically told everyone in this school that I could be his girl, and now, it just makes me feel stupid. Why didn't you tell me this before?" I accused Maeve.

"I'm sorry, K. I really wanted to tell you but it seemed as if Austin's changed, you know? So I didn't want to crush your hopes."

"Well, consider my hopes crushed," I said, tears forming in my eyes.

"What do you mean?" Maeve questioned, confused. Instead of saying anything, I nodded to where our group sat. Austin was talking, and possibly flirting, with the cheerleaders that gathered around. He had a girl on his lap with his arms around her waist.

"I gotta go, I'll see you later," I mumbled, running off to who knows where before anyone could see the tears falling.

"Kaylie!" Maeve shouted but I never turned back.

I reached the football field. I ran to the far side of the field and kicked the posts, "Kaylie, why are you so stupid? Idiot! Idiot! Idiot!"

I continued kicking the posts until the pain finally caught up. I stopped kicking the posts and slid down, my back against the post. I hugged my legs close to my chest and began sobbing.

"Why did you have to lay your heart on the line, again? Didn't you learn from the last time?" I scolded myself. I then realized that I was still wearing Austin's jersey. I quickly took out the knot and pulled the jersey over my head, and threw it over my shoulders. At this moment, I didn't care where it landed.

The bell rang which indicated third period was about to start, but I didn't care. I had US History with Maeve, Nicky, Matt and Austin. I didn't want to face him now, especially with my tear-streaked face and my makeup smudged. I wiped my tears and just sat there, looking out into the field, contemplating if Austin and I had a future. Probably not.

You know what else I forgot? My bag, I didn't take it with me when I went to the lunch line. What a big mistake. I don't have my phone with me. Damn it. But I guess it's a good thing considering I wouldn't be disturbed by worried calls from my best friends.

"Kaylie," a voice whispered. I didn't want to see who it was because I _know_ who it is.

"Just leave me alone," I retaliated, resting my head on my knees.

"Kaylie, just tell me what's wrong."

"Nothing's wrong," I tried putting on a strong voice, but failed miserably.

"You sure? Because that jersey on the grass seems to say otherwise."

"Fine you want to know what's got me feel so stupid about myself? It's you, okay? Austin, you make me feel like a fool," I screamed.

"What? How'd I manage to do that?" he asked taken aback, while sitting down on the grass next to me, handing my bag.

"You don't date girls," I mumbled.

He sighed, "Who told you?"

"So it's true," it wasn't a question but a statement. I waited for him to answer, but no response came. "Alright then," I said, picked up my bag, and walked towards the parking lot. I didn't feel like going back to class, and I didn't want to stay here with him.

"Kaylie," he stood up behind me.

"I'm just gonna go, I'll see you at the game," I kept on walking.

"Will you at least wear my jersey?" he asked. Wow, is he serious? He doesn't want to explain why he doesn't date girls. He won't tell me that he's changed and maybe, just maybe, we could work out. He doesn't do any of that, but instead he asks if I would wear his jersey? I turned on my heel and looked at him.

"Yeah, okay, whatever. See you later," I said, walking towards him. I took his jersey and turned around again.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

It was four thirty and I didn't need to be at the game until six. So I hopped into the shower. Since I got home, all I did was curl in my bed and watched re-runs of America's Next Top Model. I didn't even bother getting changed out of my cheer outfit.

After my shower, I put on my sports bra and my spankies. I wrapped my hair in a towel and exited my bathroom. I sat at my vanity and pulled out my hair dryer. I plugged it in and slowly dried my hair. See, my hair is naturally wavy, but for games, I usually curl it a bit more. So before my hair was entirely dry, I unplugged the hair dryer and plugged in my curler. I tied half my hair back into a ponytail and curled the ends. For the rest of my hair, I curled it from their roots, but I didn't leave them on the curler for too long.

I looked at my phone and saw that it was already 5:30. If I don't finish getting ready faster then I would be late. So I quickly put on my cheer bow and took out my make up. All I did for my eyes were a smoky eye with a few sparkles at the corner of my eyes.

I put on a light pink blush, lip-gloss, and a dab of Juicy Couture perfume. After I was done, I pulled on my cheer uniform and put Austin's jersey in my duffel bag, along with my phone, and wallet. I snatched the keys off my dresser and ran down the stairs, nearly falling over a couple of times. I quickly put on my cheer sneakers and dashed out the door.

I hopped into my car and drove as fast as I could to Taft High School. Once I reached the school, I saw that the parking lot was packed. Just my luck. It took me a while to find a parking spot but I finally found one. I power walked towards the field and saw that the football team was already getting in line to start the game. Crap, I was late. We were supposed to be there early to wish "our" players – the guy whose jersey we are wearing – good luck. But then I thought about it. After what Austin put me through today, he didn't deserve a good luck wish from me.

I ran towards Maeve and saw her waiting for me, hands crossed.

"I'm so sorry!" I panted.

"Why weren't you in third? And why are you late? And, lastly, why aren't you wearing Austin's jersey?"

"Well I didn't want to go to third because Austin was going to be there. But then he found me anyways, and I sorta told him why I was upset. He didn't even explain himself so I went home. I'm late because I took extra long in the shower. I forgot what the time was. And Austin's jersey is in my duffel bag. Let me take a breath and I'll wear it," I said between breaths.

"Wait, so what did Austin say after you told him? And alright, wear it, quick!" Maeve urged me.

"Austin asked who told me, and so I said, "So it's true" and he didn't say anything else. So I got up to go home. And instead of saying anything, or even explaining himself, he just said, "Will you at least wear my jersey?" in a really douche bag-y tone," I told Maeve while putting on Austin's jersey and tying it behind my back.

"Are you serious? He said that?" Maeve handed me my pom poms.

"Yeah," I replied and we both took our spots in our formation – both Maeve and I were in front.

"Wow. But I heard from Nick he's been planning something."

"Really? But it's probably not for me. It's probably for the girl he had on his laps with his arms around her waist," my voice was full of daggers.

"What? Caitlyn? Kaylie, you don't understand. That's his sister," Maeve laughed. Oh great, I feel even more stupid right now.

"Oh my god, what an idiot," I mumbled.

"You were upset the whole time because of _that_?"

"Well partially. But for the most part, what Chad said."

"Kaylie-"

"No, it's okay. I'll be fine, but now, let's concentrate on cheering," I interrupted.

"Whatever you say, K," Maeve gave in.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

It was half time and we were leading by 14 points. We were done with our halftime routine and were lounging around on the tarmac, waiting for the third quarter to begin. The boys came out five minutes earlier than they were supposed to, I don't know why. They all stood in the middle of the field and Austin ran towards a referee. I couldn't quite pick out what Austin and the referee was talking about, but at the end of the talk, the referee handed Austin his microphone. What the hell is Austin up to? He made his way back to the center of the field and stood in front of the pack, facing us.

"Hey everyone, how are you doing?" Austin asked and the crowd cheered. Being cheerleaders, we cheered along with them.

"Alright, alright, settle down. So, you're all probably confused as to what we're doing, but just bear with me," and there it was, even more cheers and screams.

"There's this girl that's here today. She doesn't think I like her, but truth is, I like her, a lot. I think I may be falling for her. But see, I screwed it all up today because I let her walk away from me," and there were the "aww"s.

"Kaylie, you know he's talking about you," Maeve whispered and nudged me. I shrugged in return but I was blushing furiously.

"So if you guys can help me, let's bring her here towards the middle of the field. Kaylie Cruz, will you please come up here?" Austin questioned.

"Kaylie! Kaylie! Kaylie! Kaylie!" was immediately heard from the entire stadium, even from the opposing team. My cheerleading teammates pushed me towards the field and I took each step after that one by one, controlling the fluttering in my stomach, and trying to keep my crimson blush under control.

"Austin, what are you doing?" I whispered once I got to the center of the field.

"I didn't have the guts to tell you this earlier. Yes, I'm the guy that doesn't have girlfriends, but that's the past. From the day I met you, I knew that I couldn't just hook up with you and forget you. You were different, you _are_ different. You're the exception. But I didn't figure that out quick enough until you walked away from me right on this field some five hours ago," he moved closer to me and took a hold of my hand. The rest of the varsity football team, one by one, put a rose on the ground next to me.

"Each individual rose petal represents how much I really like you. And judging from the number of roses, I seriously, really, freaking like you," and there came the cue for the "aww"s. I smiled up at him and he dropped down on one knee. Wait, what the hell did he just do? Why is he doing this? Oh my god, he can't be proposing to me, can he? Holy shit.

"Uh, Austin, what are you-"

"Kaylie, don't worry, I'm not about to propose to you, we're too young for that," he interrupted and the stadium erupted with laughter. "What I'm about to ask is," he snapped his fingers.

"Kaylie, will you do Austin the biggest honor of being his girlfriend?" the football team belted out. I stood there in silence for what felt like forever. I was stunned, to say the least. Did Austin Tucker really just pull all that off? Did he really just ask me to be his girlfriend? Well not him, but he was the mastermind behind it.

"Yes," I said and the football team erupted in cheers. They moved towards me, avoiding the thorns from the roses, and lifted me up onto Austin's shoulders. Austin was smiling like a five year old, and I am sure I was, too. This was one of the best days I've ever had in my entire life.

After a few seconds, I climbed off of Austin's shoulders carefully, making sure that I don't hurt Austin or myself. The football team went back to their bench, but Austin and I were still in the center of the field – I'm not sure why.

"Kaylie, you know I really, really, really, really-"

"I know, Austin," I touched his face and he wrapped his arms around my waist. "My heart found its home."

"So did mine, Kales, so did mine," he said before pulling me in for a kiss, right there in the middle of the stadium.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> Ain't that CUTE or what? We loved writing this chapter for reasons unknown!

Now, the winner of last chapter's challenge is **M****idnight Rose 97**. She did not write the answer in the review but she did send us a private message for the answer, and she did that before anyone else did! The correct answer is **ONE DIRECTION**. Could you guys not tell by the way we used their hit single in chapter 1? ;)

Anyways, she hasn't replied to any of our private messages, so if she doesn't reply in the next 12 hours, we're forced to move onto the next person who got it right: **MaximumMelody**. Reason being we really want to do a collab with one of our readers and we want it to be up on CHRISTMAS DAY! or Christmas Eve. Either works.

Midnight Rose 97: that's okay! Sometimes being the first gives you an advantage, for, let's say, winning the challenge! Yeah, we like Adele's "Set Fire to the Rain" but we're still looking for a chapter where we could fit that song in! Really? That's okay. School sometimes messes with people. Thing is, that night, my friends and I went to my cousin's ice hockey game, and he scored on 11:11pm. WEIRD HUH? Doesn't everyone wish we had a guy like Austin? Perfection.

MaximumMelody: you got it! But you now know, that if Midnight Rose 97 does not reply in the next 12 hours, YOU get to be the collaber with US? :)

Elle: in this chapter ;)

tonight: they WERE our favorite until One Direction came along!

Ghostwriter626: Backstreet Boys were years ago :) we still love them, but not as much as 1D! I love kaystin, too :)

**Challenge:** Alright, everyone! Just one last thing, what should Kaylie and Austin's couple name be? MAKE IT ORIGINAL. Name that we LOVE the best will be featured in this story! No time limit. Challenge will end when we find the name we like the best!

And we only got five reviews last chapter. We're not begging for reviews, it's just, we love to see how our readers react to the chapter. So, we're sorry for doing this, but 8+ reviews for the next chapter :) 8 is not that bad, right? We know you can reach it!

**_REVIEW!_**

**Love,**

**S & T xx**


	7. Chapter 7

**Author's note:** MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYONE C: we love you guys and what better way than to give you all a present in the form of a new chapter? This chapter is written by **Midnight Rose 97** and may we say that she is an amazing writer. She came up with the ideas and so we do not own this chapter but all rights goes to her!

Enjoy :)

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter Seven<strong>

Kaylie woke up the next morning around 10:00am. Her head pounded. She groaned: hangovers are an ass. She recalled the events of last night: the 56-0 victory of the last game of the season, the INSANE after party at Austin's house—who knew he was loaded?—and the sweet kiss he gave her as he dropped her off. Kaylie smiled and then froze, realizing something—today was the first day of winter break! She gulped down some cold water and an aspirin, and clomped downstairs in her pink striped pajamas and skidded to a halt.

"Hi Mom! Hi Dad!" Kaylie said warmly with a smile.

"Someone's cheerful today," remarked Alex Cruz with a grin.

"Of course! It's winter break! Two weeks of no school…how heavenly!" Ronnie Cruz just laughed.

"What do you plan on doing?" she inquired.

"Well…I haven't really thought about it, but I need to go Christmas shopping…and hang out with the Fab Five!" Kaylie said enthusiastically.

Going to the kitchen, she stuck two wholegrain waffles in the toaster and poured herself a cup of 2% milk. Ding! The waffles were finished, toasted to crunchy, brown perfection. Taking them out of the toaster, Kaylie added some organic honey and fresh fruit—strawberries were her favorite. She sliced the waffles carefully, savoring the sweetness.

Once done with her breakfast, Kaylie ran up the stairs into her room. She quickly made her bed, and walked into her walk-in closet, perusing the options. She settled for a pair of white Rock and Republic skinny jeans, and grabbed a grey knit top from Juicy Couture. Pulling out her iPhone, she shot a text to Maeve: _Wanna go xmas shopping? _

The reply was almost instantaneous. _Just what I was about to suggest!_

Kaylie's thumbs flew over the screen: _C u in 30? I'll pick u up. _

Kaylie was choosing her jewelry—gold snowflakes earrings from Swarovski and her signature Juicy Couture charm bracelet. After applying her regular makeup and some simple silver eye shadow, she dumped her stuff in a black leather Balenciaga satchel. Kaylie bounded down the stairs and waved goodbye to her parents, slipping on a pair of grey Steve Madden wedge booties and a white Abercrombie jacket.

Fifteen minutes later, she pulled up in her silver Porsche next to Maeve's house. Maeve came out of the door, looking equally cute in dark wash Ralph Lauren jeans, a long white tank under a faux-fur trimmed jacket, and black leather knee-high Chinese Laundry boots.

"Hey Kaylie!" said Maeve.

"Hey Maeve." Kaylie drove to the Denver mall, and they stepped out. First stop: Nordstroms. Kaylie and Maeve headed for the dress section. Kaylie reached for a v-neck purple dress and a strapless silver dress. Maeve, on the other hand, grabbed a hot pink strapless dress with a diagonal small pleated bottom and a classic knee-length LBD (Little Black Dress). The girls went to try them one, and Kaylie stepped out with the purple dress and turned in a circle, the skirt flaring out.

"Adorable!" said Maeve, clapping her hands together. "Now me."

"Cuuuuute," said Kaylie, drawing out the "u." The girls ended up buying all four of the dresses.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

After going Christmas shopping and buying gifts, of course, Kaylie and Maeve drove back to Boulder with the trunk of the Porsche filled with shopping bags. A rumble broke the silence. Kaylie turned and looked at Maeve.

"Umm…I think that was my stomach calling for food…" she explained with a sheepish grin. Kaylie looked at the clock.

"My god! It's 6 already! And we just had those pretzels and lattes for lunch…" Within five minutes, they had arrived at Boulder, and drove to Panera Bakery, where they had wraps and soup for dinner.

Kaylie paused. "Hey Maeve, do you want to ask your parents whether you can sleep over at my house tonight?"

"Yea! I'd love to! Wait…lemme call them now…" Maeve pulled out her phone from her silver Juicy Couture bag to see that there were 11 missed calls from Nicky and Austin. She listened to a few of the voicemails, puzzled as to what would cause them to call so many times. "Hey Maeve, it's Nicky. Aus and I are wondering where you and Kaylie are, since neither of you are picking up your phones…Uhh…Yea…we have some news for you guys. So call me back ASAP. Thanks." The voicemail ended. "Kaylie?"

"Mhmm…yea?" Kaylie replied, with her mouth full of her wrap.

"You might want to check your phone…"

Kaylie looked puzzled until she reached into her bag and saw her screen said: "14 missed calls from Austin and Nicky." Her eyes opened wide, and listened to the voicemail. It was very similar to Maeve's, and Kaylie said, "We should go back now. It might be bad!"

Maeve nodded her assent and quickly packed up the rest of her wrap and soup. Kaylie did the same, and they walked to her car. Kaylie drove to her mansion in a record 10 minutes, while Maeve quickly dialed her parents, who agreed to the sleepover. Kaylie tapped in the keypad code, and parked quickly. As soon as she went through the door, she yelled a greeting to her parents and some mention of the fact that Maeve was sleeping over, before rushing up the stairs, with Maeve close behind.

Kaylie flopped on the bed, and pulled out her iPhone, dialing Austin's number.

"Hey, is everything OK?" she asked, her voice laced with worry.

"Yea, it's fine. Did you get my voicemails?" he asked.

"Yes—" Kaylie began.

"Well, why didn't you call me back?" he asked a bit accusatorily

"Uh…well I was out shopping…" Kaylie began.

"And you didn't feel the need to pick up your phone or text me or anything?"

"Well—" Kaylie paused, hearing Nicky's voice in the background.

"Yo man, chill. Maeve just texted me. It's all good."

There was a pause. Austin sighed. "I just worry about you Kaylie."

"Awww…Austin is a sweetie at heart!" Kaylie teased.

Austin grunted, but said, "Hey, can me and Nicky come over? We've got news—good news, that is."

"Ooh what? Tell me! Tell me!" Kaylie said excitedly, bouncing up and down.

"Nope," said Austin, popping the "p." "It's a surprise." Kaylie could just see his smirk perfectly in her head.

"Alright…" she consented, though pouting. On the other end of the line, Austin could "see" Kaylie pouting, just as she saw him "smirk." Austin laughed.

"Alright; see you in 10."

Austin and Nicky walked in, a slight dusting of snow on their heads. They gave the girls hugs, and greeted Mr. and Mrs. Cruz before sitting on the sofa.

"So, Austin…what was that news?" Kaylie asked, unable to suppress her excitement.

"Well…you see, we had an idea. A very good idea, mind you. And we talked to the parents, so it's all good. You only have to agree and—"

Maeve glared at Austin. "And what exactly would we be agreeing to?"

Austin held up his hands in surrender and pulled out four slips of paper, placing them on the table. Kaylie and Maeve bent down and took one of the slips of paper, lifting it to her face. Maeve's jaw dropped open.

"A week's stay in Vail?" she exclaimed, flabbergasted.

"Yup. I've got connections there, since I'm a premium member," said Austin proudly.

"We'd leave Wednesday morning, and get there in the afternoon to snowboard after dropping off our stuff at Austin's condo. He's got a place up there that's really close to the slopes and has a great view," said Nicky.

"Wait…why isn't Matt going?" asked Maeve.

"He's got plans already; apparently, his family's going to Cali or something," explained Nicky offhandedly.

"Oh…well at least we'll all be having fun!" said Maeve, already back to her bubbly self.

"Uh…Austin?" said Kaylie, a bit hesitantly.

"Yea, Kales?"

"I..err…don't know how to snowboard…"

"No prob. Your parents said they thought it'd be a good time for you to learn, since you live in Colorado now."

"Alright…though I don't know…I think I'll have the coordination for it…"

Maeve snorted. "You're one of THE best flyers on the squad. You'll do fine."

"Thanks! If you say so…but I'm going to be the one with bruises on my butt!"

Austin laughed, and gave Kaylie a quick squeeze. "Don't be nervous—I'll be there for you."

"Thanks, Aus," said Kaylie with a smile, leaning in to give him a peck on the lips.

"Ewwww…" said Nicky, ruining the moment. "Cut it out with the PDA; at least save it for vacation!" Austin punched Nicky playfully in the shoulder.

"I can't wait!" said Kaylie and Maeve at the same time. They all laughed.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

Wednesday arrived, and the Fab Four loaded their bags into Austin's Dad's BMW SUV. Austin and Nicky sat in the front, while Kaylie and Nicky sat in the back. After leaving around 7 in the morning, they arrived there around 10.

Austin grabbed his Victorinox luggage case and Kaylie's Juicy Couture suitcase, while Nicky grabbed his Samsonite. Kaylie unloaded her Juicy Couture satchel and carried it with her silver Chanel tote (see 5). Maeve followed with her Diane Von Furstenberg suitcase and Longchamp bag. After unloading their stuff, Austin spoke up.

"Hey, let's hit the slopes!"

The Fab Four quickly dressed and loaded into the car again, and drove to the check-in. Austin grabbed out his Burton snowboard and boots, while Nicky got his Never Summer snowboard and boots. Maeve had a K2 snowboard and boots, so after leaving their boards along a wall, Austin walked Kaylie in to get fitted for a board. After bypassing the line because of his membership, Kaylie walked out, still unsure.

"We'll ride the bunny slopes; don't worry!" reassured Austin.

"Bunny slopes?" asked Kaylie, confused.

"Yup."

"Why?"

"I dunno, but enough talking! Let's go!" yelled Austin enthusiastically, raising his glove-clad hand towards the sky. Nicky and Maeve laughed and followed the couple. Maeve reached into her North Face jacket pocket and pulled out a Samsung camera.

"God, I'm totally capturing this on film!" she said with a grin. Nicky laughed.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

Austin helped Kaylie get off the lift, and she looked around to see that she was the oldest person there—all the others on the bunny slope were younger than 10. She flushed pink, embarrassed. Austin saw this, and laughed, before kissing her on the nose.

"Alright, so you're strapped in now. What you wanna do is lean back a bit, so you're on the heel side—that's like you're heeling in cheer, but not too much," Austin explained, demonstrating. Kaylie leaned backwards, before falling hard.

"Ow!"

"Kales, you were supposed to bend your knees to keep your balance!"

"Well, you didn't tell me that!" she said accusatorily.

"Sorry, babe," Austin apologized. "Well, try again, and make sure to bend your knees this time." Kaylie tried again, and stayed that way for a while.

"Good! So now, what you wanna do now is rock back and forth…like this…" Austin demonstrated. Kaylie tried again and again until she finally got it, after a couple falls, of course. Unbeknownst to both of them, Nicky and Maeve had been at the top of the slope, filming this, and talking pictures for posterity.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

It was around 2 when they stopped. Austin pulled off his glove and took out his phone, dialing Nicky. A phone rang above them. Surprisingly, it sounded remarkably similar to Nicky's. Kaylie turned around, and squinted. She saw someone wearing a similar black jacket, but wasn't sure. Then she saw the giveaway. Maeve's pink and white bomber jacket was clearly visible from next to him, and her hair color was clearly visible, even under her black hat.

"Austin…I think that's them. Have they been up there the whole time?"

"Wait…what?" Austin looked up, slightly confused. He then saw Nicky, and hung up promptly. "Oops—bad reception," he said with a wink. "Let's go catch them," he said, pulling Kaylie along. Kaylie laughed, as they pretended to calmly go to the lift.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

Maeve looked around confused. "Where'd they go? They were just here…"

Nicky looked up from his phone. "What? Oh, that's weird…I just got a call from Austin…"

They reached the top, and Kaylie got off, with little assistance—she was getting really good at this! Kaylie unbuckled her boots, and snuck to where Nicky and Maeve were hidden. Austin followed behind, and put on a fake-deep voice.

"Excuse me, but what are you two doing here? You shouldn't be causing trouble."

Maeve jumped, and squeaked, "We're so sorry, sir! We were just—"

"Just what, Maeve?" asked Kaylie, speaking up.

Maeve and Nicky's eyes bugged out.

"Wha-at?" Nicky looked guilty and attempted to hide Maeve's camera by moving in front of her. This, however, only drew Kaylie's attention.

"You were taking pictures of us?" she yelled.

"Dude, chill, or someone might actually find us here," said Maeve.

"…whatever. I'm going down to lunch. Coming, Austin?" said Kaylie, miffed at the fact that her friends would do such a thing. Austin followed, as they snowboarded down the slope.

"A few more pictures?" asked Nicky teasingly towards Maeve. Maeve only glared at Nicky, and snowboarded down. "Hey! This was your idea! Don't be mad at me!" he yelled before catching up.

As Kaylie sipped some chicken noodle soup, Austin reached over to take her hand.

"Kaylie, are you still mad at Nick and Maeve?"

"Well, yea…a bit…it was a complete violation of privacy!"

"It was uncalled for, but I'm sure they were going to tell us afterwards—"

"How can you be sure?" Kaylie cut him off, her chocolate eyes blazing.

"I can't be sure, but that's beside the point. They're your friends, so you should forgive them," said Austin.

Kaylie bit her lip. "I will if they apologize. But if they don't—"

Austin interrupted. "Kaylie, I get it; you're **. And they should apologize to you. But I want you to enjoy yourself. And being ** at two of your best friends is no way to have fun," he said, his blue eyes surprisingly serious.

Kaylie sighed and gave him a half-hearted smile. "Alright," she consented.

"That's my girl," said Austin, grinning, back to his cheerful self. He leaned over and gave her a quick smooch. Kaylie smiled sheepishly, and kissed him back, before finished lunch.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

After they finished eating, Austin convinced Kaylie to watch him on the black diamond courses. This, Kaylie photographed—she had an eye for photography, and had gotten a few good shots of him doing tricks like "ollies," "1-2s," "crails," "goombas," "gorillas," and a really awesome one called a "mule kick." He did some flips too—"wildcats," "ninety rolls," "michalchuk," and her favorite—the "McTwist." Kaylie clapped at all the right moments—when she wasn't talking pictures—and it soon began getting dark.

"Hey, Aus?"

"Mmm?"

"I think we should be heading back now…it like 6…and my butt is frozen!"

"Oh! Alright; wait a sec." Austin pulled out his phone and shot off a quick text to Nicky: _Yo man about 2 leave. Meet parking lot in 10?_

Nicky replied: _Yea, c u._

Kaylie looked over. "Who're you texting?"

"Just Nick to tell him we're leaving," he replied nonchalantly.

"…I see…" They walked to the parking lot, where they saw Nicky and Maeve near the car. As Kaylie and Austin's footsteps became audible, Maeve turned around, worry etched on her face.

She paused, hesitant. "…Kaylie…are you still mad at us?"

Kaylie pursed her lips and thought about it. Was she truly mad at them? "…No, I'm not. I got over it. But I was upset with your violation of privacy—"

"We're sooo sorry! We were just having some fun and were going to show them to you afterwards!" said Maeve.

"Kales, I'm really sorry. I mean, I didn't think you would take it that way…"

Kaylie smiled. "It's alright. It's the time for forgiving and forgetting, so that's what I'm going to do."

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

The next few days passed, with Austin teaching Kaylie how to snowboard—she turned out to be a natural!—and doing fun activities in the evening, like watching movies, going shopping, and just having fun. Saturday, Christmas Eve, came around, and Austin waved four silver tickets in front of them during lunch.

"Guess what these are?" he teased.

"Tickets?" said Maeve, stating the obvious.

"Duhhhhh," said Austin, faux-sassily. "But…They're tickets to a special showing of the Nutcracker by the Royal School of Ballet. But that's not really the main attraction. Shawn White and Lindsey Vaughn are going to be there for publicity!"

"Dude, legit?" Nicky said excitedly. Austin nodded, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

Maeve and Kaylie looked at each other and nodded. "We've gotta get ready," they said with a smile.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

Kaylie and Maeve were currently in their shared room applying makeup and wearing their silver and black dresses respectively. Kaylie applied Gunmetal silver Urban Decay eyeshadow, black Urban Decay eyeliner, and benefit's girl meets pearl. She finished off with black DiorShow mascara and a light pink Lancôme Juicy Tubes. Her accessories were an Alexander McQueen hot pink, crystal studded clutch and black Christian Louboutin heels with an adorable bow at the toe Her hair was done in a curled, poufy bun with tendrils hanging out. Maeve, wearing her LBD, has on purple smoky eye shadow, also from Urban Decay, and gold MAC lip glaze. She accessorized in gold: a beautiful gold clutch embellished with a flower gold Jimmy Choo stilettos, and a Juicy Couture necklace with a bow and crystal setting. They walked out the door hand in hand to be greeted with Nicky and Austin looking much more handsome, their years of 17 looking much older and sophisticated. That feeling stopped when both Nicky and Austin grinned widely at the girls, though they smiled back and walked hand in hand to the black BMW, though it had been just washed and cleaned to look almost new.

Once arriving at the party, the two couples stepped onto the red carpet. One would think that they would go unnoticed, besides for the fact that Tom Danielson, one of Shawn White's competitors and friend, yelled, "Yo Aus! How are you, man? Got that McTwisty yet?" he teased.

Austin scoffed. "I got that 3 months ago. Kaylie here's got pictures to prove it." Kaylie laughed at the friendly rivalry. Meanwhile, photographers shot pictures of the cutest couple here—they were obviously in love with each other.

"Well, I dunno if you'll even make it to Olympic level like me and White here…" Tom said, smirking. At this Austin let out a hearty laugh.

"Maybe not, but you know it's a fact that I'm wayyy better than you at football!" Austin retaliated.

"True," agreed Tom, cocking his head. He then turned his attention to Kaylie. "And you would be…?" He checked her out, and not too surreptitiously either.

Austin wrapped his arms possessively around Kaylie's waist. "My girlfriend from Taft High," his voice suddenly growing harsh.

Kaylie elbowed Austin, and stuck out her hand. "I'm Kaylie Cruz. How are you?"

"I'm doin' great! In fact, I—" Maeve interrupted, seeing a friend in distress.

"Kaylie, Austin, we should go in now," she said nicely but firmly. Austin shot her a thankful look, and they followed her into the hotel.

Once inside and seated to watch the ballet in the fifth row, two rows behind and about 8 seats to the left of Lindsey and 14 seats to the left of Shawn, Maeve turned to Kaylie.

"What were you thinking back there? You're lucky I saved your **!" she whisper-yelled.

"What are you talking about?" asked Kaylie, confused.

"With that Tom Danielson guy. He was totally checking you out, and Austin was **. He was playing the jealous boyfriend card," Maeve explained.

Kaylie's mouth dropped into an "O." "Oh…I see. That was the problem? He's soo not my type. Way to cocky."

Maeve suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "Coming from the girl who's dating Mr. QB…that's a big claim."

Kaylie paused, realizing her flaw in logic. "Well, whatever. Austin and I are dating, so no one will get between us. Except for you and Nicky. But you guys don't count, since you're all…wait, what are you to each other?"

/maeve explains her/nicky's relationship here? I have no idea what it is, so I can't really incorporate it into the story with my writing.

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

After the ballet, Austin turned to Kaylie. "Hey," he said softly. "Can I talk to you? Outside?"

"Mmm? Yea, of course." Kaylie smiled, thinking of how sweet Austin had been the whole night.

Austin took Kaylie's hand and let her outside onto a balcony. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a velvet, navy box. Kaylie's eyes widened as he opened it to reveal a beautiful Swarovski necklace: it was a crystal snowflake on a gold chain (see 14), with "K" charm (see 15) hanging around it.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"Turn around." Kaylie did as wished and lifted her hair as Austin lifted the necklace out of the box and placed it around her neck. Kaylie let her hair down and turned around, to be caught in Austin's embrace.

"Merry Christmas, Kaylie," he murmured into her hair. Kaylie looked up to see his sparkling cerulean eyes reflecting the moon. In her heels, she stood almost up to his nose. Raising her feet a bit, she lifted her lips to meet his, and whispered, "Merry Christmas to you, too, Tucker."

The next morning, the Fab Four exchanged gifts.

Kaylie, of course, had already gotten her gift from Austin, and she in turn gave him a platinum key fob with "A" and "K" charms (see 16-17). Austin gave her a quick smooch. She then turned to Nicky.

"I wasn't really sure what to get you… but I made this, so I hope you like it," she said with a smile. She handed him a scrapbook filled with photos of them from toddlerhood up until now. Nicky flipped open to a random page and saw a picture of him, his face squinted in exhaustion, from doing parallel bars while they were young. Maeve looked over his shoulder and burst into fits of laughter.

"You—you look-hahahahahaha—consti-sti-pated!" she said in between gasps of breath.

Nicky slammed it shut and shot Kaylie a look. "I love it, but did you have to put all those embarrassing photos in it?"

Kaylie grinned. "Of course!"

"My turn, my turn!" said Maeve excitedly.

"I remember you wanting this…so here you go." Maeve saw the pink and chocolate brown box with a terrier on the front. She gasped.

"OHMIGAWD! Is this the charm bracelet I wanted?"

"Open up and find out." Inside was an adorable travel themed bracelet (see 18), as Maeve loved to travel all over the world.

"Thank you sooooo sooo much!" Maeve leaned over to give Kaylie a hug.

Nicky handed Kaylie a drawstring bag with a Coach label on front.

"I didn't really know what to get you, so Maeve helped me pick it out." It was an adorable Coach tote perfect for school.

"Oh my God! I love it!" Kaylie turned to Nicky and Maeve both to give them a hug. Maeve handed Kaylie a box with a ring in it. It was a silver ring with a heart cut crystal (see 20). Inside was engraved "Friends Forever."

Austin gave Nicky a nice watch from Bentley, and gave Maeve a cute keychain with a wallet/passport of sorts on it

Maeve gave Nicky a wallet from Emporio Armani, as she noticed that he needed a new one. She gave Austin a gag gift: a football jersey and shorts printed with a "cheerleading uniform." In addition, she got him a silk tie from Brooks Brothers.

Nicky gave Austin a $100 gift card to Underarmour for some sports gear, and a pair of really nick free weights. He gave Maeve a pretty Coach wallet that Kaylie gave him some advice on. They all found it kind of funny that Maeve and Nicky got each other wallets!

After the gift exchange, the foursome went out to snowboard again—half the time was gone already, and they wanted to treasure the rest before going back to Boulder.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> So, what'd you think? Next chapter comes up during New Years so keep your eyes peeled :) We were going to do another challenge/collab thing for chapter eight, but we're all going off today on holiday. We're going to Reno for the next couple of days so we won't be able to PM anyone to tell if they're correct so looks like the challenge/collab thing would have to wait til next year!

We would like to give a shout out to **Midnight Rose 97** for this beautiful chapter :) We love you!

Elle: thank you for the review! And obviously, a new chapter is up! Courtesy of MR97 :)

xoxoxo: thank you! You're amazing :) keep reading!

MaximumMelody: hahaha! thank you! Well, she did reply in the end, maybe next challenge? Or you could come up with a couple name for Austin/Kaylie or Nicky/Maeve (look in the previous chapter for challenge deets) :)

anam: haha yeah! We included the whole "bend on one knee" thing to make it more interesting! And at first, we were only going to do just Austin in the middle of the field but we thought the entire football team would actually make a difference and K would be really happy :) hence, the whole football team! And "AuKay" sounds good! We'll keep it in mind, we're just waiting for a few more names and we'll pick :) thanks for inputting!

Carol bendon: thank you! We do try to make each and every chapter good :)

iLuvToRead: thank you! We love Kaylie/Austin too!

**Now that you've read, review!**

**REVIEW!  
>Love,<strong>

**S & T xx**

**P.S. MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HOPE YOU GUYS GOT ALL THE PRESENTS YOU WISHED FOR! :D **


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter Eight**

_Kales. Party for New Years. My place._

That's what I first saw when I woke up. I replied: _Well good morning to you, too, boyfriend._

I put my phone on my vanity and walked into the bathroom. I stripped down and stepped into the steaming shower, allowing my muscles to instantly relax. After shampooing my hair and washing my body, I stepped out and wrapped a towel around my torso. I heard my phone ringing and so I went to retrieve it.

"Hello?" I said while walking back into the bathroom.

"_K! Did you get Austin's message?"_

"No, M, I did not get a message from my boyfriend," I teased. "Duh! Of course I did. Something about the party?"

"_Uh…what?" _Maeve asked.

"He said that he's hosting a party for New Years?" I scrunched my eyebrows together.

"_Dude, you're not supposed to tell her!"_ I heard Nicky's voice in the distant.

"Tell me what, M?"

"_N..Nothing! Uh, so you wanna go shopping for the party?"_

I knew they were hiding something important from me, _very_ important. But if Austin told them what it is, then I believe it's Austin's responsibility to tell me. So I dropped the subject. "Yeah, sure, when?"

"_In about an hour? Lemme get rid of Nicky here and we'll go."_

"Maeve. It's 9 in the morning. What the hell are you doing with Nicky?"

"_I-uh…we…bye! See you in an hour!"_ Maeve said quickly and hung up. This lady has some explaining to do!

I had a new message from Austin and it read: _So what's my baby doing this fine morning?_

I chuckled at the message before pressing the _Call_ button.

"_Hey, babe," _Austin said.

"Hey!" I replied, putting Austin on speakers, as I needed to do my hair.

"_So what are you doing today? You know, before my party?"_

"Oh, Maeve and I were going to go shopping."

"_Okay! That's good. Well the party starts at 6 but then I was thinking the Fab Five should come around 4 or 5?"_

"Sounds good, I'll see you then, okay?"

"_Alright, bye babe."_ I hung up. I finished blow-drying my hair and left them in my natural curls. I applied a dab of blush and did a smoky-eye effect for my eyes.

I then walked into my closet and picked out my outfit for the day: dark denim jeans with a cropped top with fringes. You could see my stomache through the fringes but it didn't matter as I pulled on a cropped leather jacket over my shirt. I took out ballet flats and put them on; followed by my snowflake necklace that Austin gave me. I sprayed on some Juicy Couture perfume and took out my hot pink Balenciaga Pewter bag.

I stepped out of my closet and towards my vanity, putting in my wallet, hand sanitizer, hand lotion, and my camera into the bag. I took my phone and put it into my front pocket on my jeans and tok out my Chanel sunglasses and donned it above my head.

My phone began ringing and I took it out, Maeve's goofy face flashed on my screen and I immediately put her on speakers.

"_I'm outside!"_

"I'm done. Coming down right now. We taking your car? Or mine?"

"_Mine. You'll scream,"_ Maeve explained before hanging up. I walked down the stairs and out the house. My parents were gone. They were in Europe for the holidays and they decided to leave me here to hangout with my best friends. I'm glad they did, though.

I stepped out of my house and I stopped dead in my tracks. Right in my driveway was a black Porsche Cayenne (the two-door kind) and Maeve sitting in the driver's seat.

"Holy shiznit, Maeve, you got your dream car," I said.

"I know! Come on in, best friend!" I ran towards the car, carefully pulled the door open and stepped in.

"Well, this is one awesome car."

"I know! We all have fabulous cars, isn't that great?" Maeve said all too excitedly.

"No duh! Well, let's go shopping. It's New Years Eve so I doubt anywhere is going to be open," I said sadly.

"Kaylie, do you still not understand? My dad owns the biggest shopping mall here, so of course they're going to be open for us!"

"What? You didn't tell me your dad owned a shopping mall, let alone the _biggest_ one!" I exclaimed.

"Oh, well I guess it slipped my mind! Well now you know, so let's go shopping!"

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

"Hey, babe!" Austin shouted at us when Maeve and I entered his house. I was wearing a short glittery dress from Valentino, which landed about five inches from my butt. I wore black Louboutins with it and tied half of my hair up into a festive up do, while leaving the rest curled. Maeve wore a hot pink one-shoulder dress, which, like mine, landed five inches from her butt, and silver stilettos.

"Hey!" I replied, engulfing myself in his arms and gave him a chaste kiss.

"Save the PDA for when my boyfriend's around, too," Maeve said.

"He's in the kitchen," Austin chuckled.

"Alright, well that's where I'm headed, see you guys after your make-out session," Maeve waved while I shook my head.

"Oh, Maeve," I sighed.

"I missed you," he said, giving me another kiss that lasted a little bit longer.

"I saw you yesterday," I giggled.

"Not enough for me. I can't get enough of you," he said and yet again, gave me another kiss.

"Well, let's get going in the kitchen. Where's Matt?" I asked while entering the kitchen.

"He's coming when everyone else is. Something about not wanting to be there during the make-out session the four of us is going to have," Nicky replied. Wait, did I hear that right? The _four _of us?

"What do you mean "the four of us"?" I questioned, obviously confused.

"Uh, I-I meant the two of you! Not the four of us," Nicky scoffed.

"Oh please, Nicky, you've known me for more than 10 years and you still don't know that I can tell when someone's lying?"

"Alright fine," Nicky sighed.

"We're together," Maeve confessed. Hah. Caught red-handed.

"I knew it!" I exclaimed.

"That took you a long time, K, we thought you would have known during our vacation to Vail," Austin cracked up.

"Wait, you knew about this?" I inquired.

"Uh-well, yeah. They told me," Austin took a step back.

"And you didn't tell me?"

"Well, I-they…I…they told me not to tell!" he accused.

"Oh, don't bring us into this. We didn't tell you to keep it a secret. We specifically told you that you could tell Kaylie if you wanted to. Obviously you didn't," Nicky said.

By this time the fact that Austin didn't tell me something this huge was definitely pissing me. Like seriously? I never thought Austin was capable of keeping secrets from me, I was definitely wrong. I looked at him with a look full of disappointment and he sighed. The bell saved his ass.

"I'm going to go get the door," I told the three of them, stomping out of the kitchen and towards the foyer.

"Hey! Matthew!"

"K, really? No need to pull out my full name," Matt replied, pulling me into a hug. "And since you're on full name basis, that means something's wrong. What is it?"

"You know me too well. It's Austin. He didn't tell me that Nicky and Maeve are together," I sighed.

"You didn't know?" Matt said incredulously.

"Wait, you knew? Am I the only one that didn't know?"

"I thought you knew! It was so obvious!" he said.

"Great! I'm the only stupid one here," I sat down on the stairs.

"Kales, you're not stupid. Sometimes it's easy to overlook something that is incredibly obvious. But there's something obvious here that I will _not _overlook," he tried comforting me.

"What?"

"You look beautiful tonight, Kaylie," he said.

"Thank you," I told him.

"So tell me, are you mad at Austin for keeping that a secret, or are you mad at the fact that you didn't know?" That was a good question.

"Both, I guess?"

"Well, that's what a party is for. When the people arrive, you gotta promise that you'll have fun, no more being mad. It's New Years Eve. You gotta live, okay?" He stuck out his pinky finger.

"Yeah," I giggled and wrapped my pinky finger around his.

"Let's get back to the others," Matt said and we headed towards the kitchen.

"Hey guys," Matt said.

"What's up?" the guys replied and did the typical "guy greeting".

**-The Quarterback and the Cheerleader-**

About an hour later, people started arriving and the party started not long after. Music blasted from the overhead speakers surrounding Austin's mansion, and there were bodies grinded against each other everywhere.

I haven't had a drink, and I decided that I would have at least one shot. I sauntered up towards the open bar Austin had.

"A shot please," I asked.

"Of what?" the bartender retaliated.

"Of whatever. Doesn't matter. I just need a shot," I told him.

"Alright," he said and started pouring liquids into a shot glass. "Here you go."

"Thanks," I beamed and took hold of the glass. I chugged it down in one gulp and let the alcohol warm my throat as it trickled down.

"Hey, Kaylie, what's up?" I whipped my head around to the voice.

"Sean," I nodded. He was a footballer, obviously. Everyone here was either on the soccer, football or cheerleading team.

"Dance with me?" he asked.

"Mm, don't think that's a good idea."

"Why? You're quarterback of a boyfriend?"

"Ding, ding, ding! And we've got a winner," I muttered.

"Oh, please. It's not like he's going to even notice us dancing," he scoffed.

"What?"

"From what I've heard, he hasn't even talked to you since the party started, let alone looked at you."

"You don't know that," I defended.

"Do I? He's in the other room, chatting up five girls right at this moment."

"He's not like that," I defended Austin, once again.

"Are you sure? Because I have known him for a far longer time than you have, and before you came along he was the "King of hookups". So therefore, I do believe he is that type of guy."

"He changed," I mumbled, reassuring myself more than I tried convincing Sean.

"Come with me," he took my wrist and pulled.

"What? No," I shrugged out of his grasp.

"No, seriously, come with me. I'll show you," he grabbed my wrist once again and led me towards the kitchen. And sure enough, there was Austin, flanked by a group of girls. He has one of his hands on one of their shoulders, and the other, holding a red Solo cup. I felt my heart throb and knew that it was too good to last.

"So, what'd you think?"

"Um, I'm just going to go to the backyard, need some time alone," I said monotonously while walking away.

"What about that dance?" he shouted.

"What about it?" I mumbled.

Once I got outside, I took in a breath of fresh air, moving towards the empty swing in the corner. I sat down and took out my phone: _11:30pm._ Thirty minutes to midnight. Thirty minutes more and 2011 will be over. Thirty minutes and I will be alone at midnight, with no one to kiss.

I don't know how many times my heart can break before it is drilled into my head that Austin is just another heartbreaker. After what happened with Cody, I swore that I would not let any other guy play with my heart. And I did. I'm a pawn in Austin's game and the prize was my heart.

Who is Cody you ask? Well let me clarify. He is Cody Matheson. I met him during freshmen year in Phoenix. He was a sophomore and was the Junior Varsity's starting quarterback. I was the new freshman on the cheerleading team. I met him on my first day and I guess I fell for him hard. He asked me to homecoming, and I guess our "fairytale" started from that day. We asked me out a short time after that and we were dubbed the "It couple" for the lower classmen. We had a strong relationship for a year until my sophomore year came around. He became a junior and he moved up towards the Varsity football squad. He started hanging out with the Varsity cheerleaders more and more and spent less time with me.

The day of our one and a half year anniversary, he was supposed to take me to dinner, but he never showed up. I didn't want to sit there moping around for a guy that didn't feel the same way. So I asked my dad to drive me to his house. I remember that day vividly.

"_Hi Mrs, Matheson, is Cody home?" I asked, giving her my million-dollar smile._

"_Oh, yes, dear, he's home. May I ask who you are?" she responded, reciprocating my smile. She didn't know who I was. Cody and I dated for a year and his mother didn't know who I was. I felt my heart tug but I put on a brave face._

"_Kaylie Cruz, nice to meet you," I held out my hand and she took it._

"_Well, why do you need to see Cody? He's with his girlfriend celebrating their anniversary." Wait, what? Did she just say Cody was out with his girlfriend?_

"_I'm sorry, what?"_

"_He's out with his girlfriend. Why are you dressed so formally?" Tears were now cascading down my well made up face._

"_I-uh…I," I was lost for words._

"_Honey, why are you crying?" she questioned; her motherly side began to show._

"_I…I'm his g-gi-girlfriend," I admitted._

"_I'm sorry? But his girlfriend is upstairs with him right now," her eyebrows scrunched together in confusion. "There must have been a mistake. His girlfriend is Brooke Connor."_

_Brooke Connor. My best friend. He cheated on me with my best friend. How could he do that to me? How could she do that to me?_

"_Can I leave Cody a note, in that case?" I asked her, tears still streaming down my face. She nodded and allowed me in the house. She gave me a piece of paper and a pen._

"_I'll make sure to give it to him," she nodded._

"_Dear Cody. I had to find out from your own mother that you were cheating on me with my best friend. What's worse? I found out on our one and a half year anniversary. How could you? There I was at my house, stressing over what to wear to this milestone date, and here you were, with my best friend in your room. People warned me that you were cheating on me, but you know what I did? I lamely defended you. Congratulations, you made me feel like an idiot. An idiot for defending you, an idiot for believing you, an idiot for trusting you, an idiot for not listening to everyone else. You know what else? After a week of us dating, I told my parents about us. I was the happiest person on Earth. Was. Notice the past tense? You just ruined the rest of my sophomore year. Your mother didn't even know whom I was when I knocked on your door, I felt foolish. I felt cheated. So I guess this is it. This is goodbye, Cody. Have a wonderful relationship with my best friend. Forever and always, Kaylie. X." _

_I folded the paper up and wrote "Cody" on the front. I handed it to Mrs. Matheson._

"_I'll make sure he gets it tonight," she nodded and gave me a comforting hug._

"_Thank you, Mrs. Matheson. I'll be going now." I walked out of the door and never looked back._

Seems like I didn't learn my lesson, did I? Here I am now, going through heartbreak, once again. Of course Cody called me that night, I just never picked up.

"_Kaylie!" the all too familiar voice said. I was stuffing my books into my locker, wearing my cheer outfit without a jersey on. It was a Friday, which meant it was game day. I didn't acknowledge him at all._

"_Kaylie," he repeated, he was standing right next to me. "Kaylie, talk to me, please."_

"_What makes you think I'm going to ever talk to you again?" I spat._

"_Kaylie, please, if you're not going to say anything, will you at least listen to me?"_

"_Alright fine. Let's go somewhere private," I said and closed my locker. I walked into an empty classroom. "Talk."_

"_I'm sorry." I waited for him to continue but it seemed like that was all he was going to give to me._

"_That's it?" he stayed silent. "Alright then," I picked up my bag and advanced to the door._

"_Will you just sit down?" he shouted. I was taken aback. He had never shouted at me before. Tears began streaming down my cheeks. I stood there, back to him, motionless._

"_Sorry, I didn't mean to raise my voice," he said softer. _

"_What do you w-want?" my voice cracked._

"_Are you crying?" he asked._

"_What do you think?" I said, frustrated._

"_I didn't mean to make you cry," he whispered._

"_Yeah? Well you should have thought about that on our one and a half anniversary," I turned around to face him. "You know, on that day, you avoided me. I thought it was because you were planning something huge on our date later on in the night. Guess I was wrong, so wrong," tears continued cascading down. "I thought that when you said, "I love you" you really meant it. I was stupid enough to believe you and gave you my heart."_

"_Kaylie," he moved towards me. "I truly am sorry."_

"_No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry for keeping you away from the person you really like, my best friend. I'm sorry for getting in the way between the both of you. I'm sorry for wasting one and a half years that you could never get back. I'm sorry for being a burden. But most of all, I'm sorry you had to pretend like you loved me," I said before running out of the room and into a bathroom._

Thinking about it has my eyes tearing up.

"Kales, are you okay?" Maeve asked while sitting down on the swing next to me.

"No, it's all happening again. The "Cody situation" is happening all over again," I cried, burrowing my head into Maeve's neck. Maeve was the only person, besides from Nicky that I told about Cody.

"Aw, babe. What's wrong?" she rubbed my back comfortingly.

"Austin's with other girls in there, flirting."

"Let me go straighten that quarterback out," Maeve said, trying to sound tough. I giggled.

"Thanks Maeve, you always know what to say," I smiled.

"Now don't you worry, it's 11:56 and I will get you a midnight kiss from your beau," Maeve said cheekily and headed back inside. I continued sitting there, staring into the night sky. I looked at my iPhone and it read: _11:58pm_.

I honestly don't believe that Maeve would knock some sense into Austin in the past two minutes. She was probably trying to find Austin in his castle.

_11:59pm,_ it was getting worse by the minute. Every second, it gets closer to midnight and Austin was nowhere to be seen. Looks like I'll be spending the last few seconds of 2011 by myself.

I looked around and sure enough, everyone was beginning to pair up, standing in front of each other. It didn't matter if they weren't together. They all just needed someone to kiss at the stroke of midnight. And here I was, standing alone. The girl with the boyfriend was standing alone.

"10! 9! 8!" people started chanting.

"7! 6!" everyone was getting hyped up.

"5!" I looked around and sure enough, I was still alone.

"4! 3!" I felt a callused hand grab mine and turn me around.

"2! 1!" and before I knew what was happening, a pair of lips caught mine. His hands wounded around my waist and mine intuitively made their way towards his neck.

"HAPPY NEW YEAR!" every screamed at the top of their lungs before indulging themselves in New Year kisses.

"I love you, Kaylie," the voice said after we broke apart. Once those 4 words leave his lips, my heart stopped. My brain stopped. My entire world stopped. Someone loves me.

It may seem as if he didn't love me, but he did. He found his way back to me at midnight.

"I love you, too, Austin," and my lips found his in another passionate kiss – our first kiss in 2012.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's note:<strong> WEIRD. we usually have an author's note in the beginning but this time we didn't! That's a first. Well, there's always a first for everything.

anam: we believe it's HAPPY NEW YEAR now :) well you gotta thank Midnight Rose 97 for the ideas! It was totally hers! All we did was edit the final product :) TRUZ sounds good :) we're really leaning towards BOTH of your suggestions, so I guess we gotta make a poll about this :)

exclamationpointsforever: THANKS! it means a lot :) and happy new year!

Kayla: all we have to say is: don't like it? don't read it :) but thanks for the constructive criticism, we appreciate it. Happy new year!

Ellie x: THANK YOU! YOU are amazing for supporting us! we really appreciate it! thank you for the amazing review :) we love you for being such an avid reader of our stories! hmm. we're thinking about that! but we really don't know anything about gymnastics, at all. So if you're willing to help out on the gymnastics-side of everything then we will definitely put it up during our daily planning sessions! Happy New Year!

Okay, so we can't believe we finished this story in time for New Years. We honestly believed that we weren't going to be able to post it in time! we thought it would be finished around the 6th or 7th, so us managing to finish this is a miracle!

**East Coast:** HAPPY NEW YEAR (3 hours ago)

**Central:** HAPPY NEW YEAR (1 or 2 hours ago)

**West Coast:** HAPPY NEW YEAR! (maybe a few minutes past midnight, but oh wells!) we live on the west coast, so we're following pacific standard time :)

May all your wishes come true in 2012, and let's just hope we really don't die on December 21st! (rebecca black's album comes out of that day :/) LOVE YOU ALL!

Lastly, it would be much appreciated if you guys followed us on tumblr (if you have one):

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THANK YOU FOR READING THIS CHAPTER! HOPE YOU GUYS ENJOYED IT! YOU KNOW THE DRILL. NOW THAT YOU'VE READ,

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**Love,**

**S & T xx**


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